Pokemon Legacy
by nld200xy
Summary: A young boy named Nathan discovers his true calling and becomes a Pokemon trainer, but things get complicated when his past comes back to haunt him.  Just what kind of dangers will Nathan face?  Will he be able to overcome them?  Read and find out.
1. Chapter 1

Pokemon Legacy

Disclaimer: I do not own the rights to the Pokemon series, so any Pokemon in this are not my creations. The characters, on the other hand, are. Oh yeah, it might be smart to check out Pokemon Quest before this as there are a few characters from that who will be reappearing later down the road.

Welcome, all, to the world of Pokemon! Here, people referred to as trainers capture Pokemon in containers known as Pokeballs. With those Pokemon, the trainers develop bonds, train, battle and so much more. But surely most of you already know this, so let's begin.

Our story begins in a dark and gloomy place where a dark cloud would always loom overhead thanks to the smoke coming out of a large building that rested there. A young 17-year-old boy dressed in black with hair to match was climbing over a fence that surrounded the building. This boy's name was Nathan.

As he reached the top, he noticed a Pokeball about to slip out of his pocket, letting go of one of the bars to catch it, the security guard hearing the sound and pointing the spotlight at him, Nathan's eyes wide with shock as he quickly made his way over the bars, an alarm going off while the boy fled for his life.

But why was he running from this building? Was this as horrible a place as it looked? And if so, why was he even in it to begin with? Well, let's just say this particular part of the story will be saved for another time.

We now cut to months later as Nathan had taken residence in a small town known as Groerberg. Here, life was simple and sweet and none of the people living in that building he had escaped from knew where he was.

Nathan lived in a small, run-down old house as he didn't have a lot of money. Luckily for him, this particular house was just about to be demolished when he moved in, so he didn't have to pay for it.

On this particular day, Nathan was taking a stroll through the town, his hands in his pockets as he glanced at the people passing by, giving a small wave as they simply bowed their heads in respect. However, this was merely common courtesy. The truth was that Nathan didn't have any friends in Groerberg. He kept to himself a lot, not really showing much enthusiasm about anything.

However, while he didn't have any friends who grew up in Groerberg, he did have one friend that had been with him for a long time. Who was this? Well, you're about to find out.

Nathan was on his way to the lab of a woman named Professor Yae. In order to provide for himself, he worked there as her janitor. It wasn't the greatest of jobs, but it was something and Nathan didn't really mind. Of course, there were few things he openly cared about.

Just as he was a few feet from the building, the Pokeball in his pocket started rocking back and forth as the boy rolled his eyes and pulled it out, pressing a button on it as it opened up, a light coming out as a small grey mole with big child-like eyes, blue and black fur and large shovel-like claws came out. The mole had a happy expression on her face she gazed at the lab, clapping her hands together.

"Yes, Sammy, we're here," Nathan said, rolling his eyes and petting the mole on the head.

Sammy was Nathan's Pokemon, a Drilbur to be exact. She was the creature Nathan had brought with him when he escaped from the building months ago. They had been best friends for years mostly due to the fact that Sammy was Nathan's only friend in the world.

The irony was that unlike Nathan, Sammy was often positive with her outlook on life. She almost always had a smile on her face and acted excited about the littlest things. She was almost like a child but was actually roughly the same age as Nathan. Part of the reason Nathan liked her so much was because he wished he could be as easily amused and as much of a social butterfly as she was.

Upon entering, Sammy ran toward a young slender woman with orange hair, a pair of glasses and a lab coat, the woman turning, her eyes going wide as the mole tackled her to the ground, rubbing her nose against the professor who simply laughed and exclaimed, "Sammy, please, we've been through this!"

With that, Nathan rolled his eyes and went toward the closet, pulling out his pale and mop before whistling to Sammy, the Drilbur running over to him as he pulled out a vile full of dead worms, pulling one out and tossing it into Sammy's mouth. The mole gulped it down with glee, rubbing her tummy and licking her lips.

"Good morning, Nathan," Yae said with a smile as Nathan simply gave her a quick wave, mopping the floor as the professor rolled her eyes. How she wished Nathan would be as social toward others as he was his Pokemon.

While Nathan continued to work, Yae looked over at three Pokeballs set upon a stand. These were three special Pokemon she had been saving for aspiring trainers, but as of late, no one in town seemed interested in taking them. Sure, there had been a few others who had come in and taken other Pokeballs, but the ones with emblems representing a flame, a water droplet and a leaf hadn't yet been claimed. She had thought about giving one to Nathan so he could find a better life than this, but the boy didn't seem to want it and Yae was not the kind of person to force things on others.

At that exact moment, a young girl entered as Yae looked up, blinking and said, "Hello, may I help you?"

This particular girl was 16 years of age, just a year younger than Nathan. She had long blue hair and was wearing a white T-shirt along with a pair of blue jeans. However, as usual, Nathan heeded this person no mind and went about his work as usual, Sammy wanting to run over and meet the girl.

"Hello, are your Professor Yae?" the girl asked as Yae nodded, the girl sighing with relief and saying, "Thank God! I am in the right place!"

"Excuse me, I've never seen you in town before..." Yae stated as the girl nodded with a smile and held out her hand, shaking Yae's while saying, "That's because I just arrived here. My name's Dana."

Yae nodded and said, "Well, it's a pleasure to meet you. What brings you here?"

Dana then pointed at the Pokeballs on the stand saying, "I've come to choose a Pokemon so I can become a trainer and I heard you had the best ones for beginners," Yae smiling and nodding before pointing toward the balls saying, "Absolutely. Pick whichever one suits your taste."

Dana walked over with an excited grin, looking over the three balls and soon put on a puzzled expression, shrugging and saying, "I'm not sure which Pokemon is in each ball," Yae blinking before saying, "Oh, yes, of course. Just a second."

With that, Yae pulled out an X-ray machine, turning it on as it showed the contents of the ball and each Pokemon resting in it. In the ball with a the flame emblem was a cute orange piglet with a few black spots, a red ball on the end of its curly tail and markings on its head that resembled a bandana. This was the fire pig known as Tepig.

In the one with the leaf emblem was the grass starter. This one was a snake with green across its back and white across its front. Its red eyes were always half-open for whatever reason, and despite being a snake, the reptile had feet and leaf-like hands along with a large green maple leaf on the end of its tail. This was the grass snake, Snivy.

The one with the water droplet emblem contained an otter with a round white head, stubby white arms and a small blue torso. On its chest was a seashell pointed upward. It also had a rather big and round orange nose. This was the water otter known as Oshawott.

As Dana looked them over, trying to decide on the right one, Nathan looked at Snivy, his eyes sparkling. This was the most beautiful creature he had ever laid eyes on, or at least that's how he saw it. Remember how Nathan was never openly impressed by anything? Well, that's just how he was on the outside. There were plenty of things that interested him on the inside, and beautiful things were a big part of his life. As a kid, he had collected many rare and exotic flowers, but he'd never tell a soul as he felt it would soil his tough guy image.

However, seeing Snivy made him forget why he ever kept his love of beauty a secret. He wanted this snake so badly. He hoped to the heavens that Dana wouldn't choose it.

Unfortunately, it looked as if she was going to do just that, Nathan's heart beginning to sink as he bit his lip, resisting the urge to go in there and stop her. However, Dana saw the pained expression on his face and realized right away what he was thinking as she directed her finger toward the fire Pokeball saying, "I'll take the piggy. Pigs are cute."

"They certainly are," Yae said with a grin as she called out Tepig, the small fire mammal walking over to Dana and looking her over, nodding in approval as Yae let down a sweat drop saying, "Good luck with this guy. He thinks his thoughts are the law and that only trainers of his choosing are fit to own him. That's a big part of the reason it took me so long to find him a master. I'm just glad he approves of you."

Dana giggled and picked the pig up, rubbing her nose up against his snout and saying, "I'm going to call you Bacon," the Tepig snorting a flame from its nostrils into her face, a look of anger on its face as Dana coughed up smoke, groaning, "I was only kidding..."

"Oh yeah, he also has a poor sense of humor," Yae replied, Tepig glaring at her as Dana said, "But in all seriousness, I'm going to call you Pyro," Nathan immediately walking over, swallowing his pride and pointing at the grass ball saying, "Yae, I know this will cost me my job, but I simply must have that Snivy."

Yae stared in shock, staring at Nathan. Was this really the same guy who never took interest in anything except Sammy's well-being? Well, whatever had come over him, Yae was thrilled to hear this as she picked up the ball and placed it in Nathan's hand.

"If that's what you want, she's yours," the woman said with a smile as Nathan let Snivy out, the snake looking up at him as Nathan knelt down, stroking her back gently as the snake smiled, nuzzling up against Nathan's chin, the boy resisting the urge to laugh, Sammy folding her arms with a look of anger as Nathan sighed, "Sammy, Zelda here is not going to replace you," Yae blinking and asking, "You already thought of a name?"

Nathan nodded his head as Dana cut in, saying, "Excuse me, but I feel as a fellow trainer, I should introduce myself," Nathan saying, "Hi, Dana, my name's Nathan," Dana folding her arms and pouting. She'd wanted to introduce herself so badly. It was in her nature.

Sammy simply pulled on Dana's pant leg, a smile on her face as Dana looked down, her eyes sparkling as she knelt down, petting the Drilbur saying, "Aw, you have a Drilbur? That's so cool!" Nathan nodding and saying, "Yeah, she's my best friend. Her name is Sammy."

With that, the three Pokemon started to get to know each other, Pyro not sure whether or not to trust the other two as both tried to make him accept their friendship, Yae giving each a set of Pokeballs and a mini computer known as a Pokedex saying, "This Pokedex will help you figure out everything you need to know about specific Pokemon and those balls will allow you to capture wild ones," Dana nodding and saying, "Wow, this is the best day of my life," Nathan looking at the girl with admiration.

He rather liked Dana's optimism and her appreciation for Snivy and Drilbur. She seemed like the kind of person Nathan wouldn't mind being friends with. However, the boy didn't want to make any feelings of this kind known, so he simply shrugged and said, "Uh... hey, since you're new to the whole trainer thing, maybe you could tag alongside me and I can show you the ropes. I've never caught a Pokemon before, but I do know how to battle with one."

Seeing this, Yae felt her heart beat faster. This was a true miracle. Not only had Nathan accepted the life of a Pokemon trainer, but he was actually travelling with someone and not just by himself. Was this really the same boy who had been working for her over the last few months?

Dana simply nodded her head and replied, "You seem like a nice guy, so sure, why not?"

With that, the two called their Pokemon into their balls and were off on their journey. Who knew what kind of adventures awaited them?

But the answer to this would have to wait as there was another stranger just entering town, a young boy with messy red hair and what seemed like a permanent angry look on his eyes. Every time a citizen would look at him, he'd glare, not having the time for pleasantries. He was here on business, but what kind of business?

As he approached Yae's lab, he kicked open the door and asked, "Are you professor Yae?" Yae's eyes wide open as she said, "Um... yes..." grinning nervously as the boy walked over and said, "I was told you were the one to turn to in order to become a Pokemon trainer."

Yae nodded, her look of nervousness becoming one of happiness. She couldn't believe it. The three Pokemon nobody had picked were being taken out of her care today and trusted with people who had time to give them the lives they deserved.

"Well, I only have one left," Yae stated as the boy shrugged and said, "Alright, that's cool. As long as it's from this lab, I know I'll be getting something good."

As Yae handed the boy the ball, she asked, "What's your name?" pulling out a Pokedex for him as the boy replied, "Jack," Yae nodding and saying, "I just needed to know that so your Pokedex will know it belongs to you. See, this will act as your ID," handing the boy the mini computer, Jack nodding and asking, "Say, what Pokemon is this?"

Yae shrugged and replied, "Why don't you open it and see?" Jack pressing a button on the ball as a flash of light came out, soon deteriorating to reveal the small otter, Oshawott.

Jack's eyes went wide, the boy staring at it for quite some time as he asked, "Is this really your last Pokemon?" Yae nodding as Jack's eye twitched, the boy shouting, "This has to be a mistake!"

"No, it's no mistake," Yae replied, shrugging her shoulders as Jack breathed heavily, glaring at the thing before pointing at it saying, "I can't go around with this thing as my partner. You must have an alternative," Oshawott walking over to Jack before nuzzling up against his leg, the boy trying to kick him away only for the otter to hang on tight, Yae asking, "What's wrong with him?"

"WHAT'S WRONG WITH HIM!" Jack retorted, pointing his hand at it, "Look at this thing! It looks like a clown fused with a snowman! I'll be a laughing stock if I use this in battle!"

Yae held her hands against her hips, looking at the boy with disgust and remarking, "I'm afraid you have no choice! You picked him, he's your partner!" Jack looking down at the otter who was now rubbing his head against his leg affectionately, the boy letting down disappointed tears and returning Oshawott to his Pokeball groaning, "Fine... I'll take him..."

With that, Yae saw the boy off, rather upset that she'd allowed this horrible person to have ownership of Oshawott, but at the same time, she had hope that maybe he could learn to accept outward appearances and see the beauty inside from this experience. Little did she know who this Jack person was.

See, Jack was just a bad kid all around. While Nathan at least had one friend in his life, Jack hadn't made any, nor did he plan on making any. To him, everyone else in the world was stupid and he was smart. To him, only beings that looked cool were worth acknowledging. As such, there was no way he would ever accept Oshawott as his ally, not unless he could find a way to make him look less ridiculous.

'It's okay,' the boy thought, 'I'll go into the forest where no one can see me, catch something that's more threatening to look at and never use this stupid creature again. It's perfect.'

And so, three trainers had started their journeys today. What could possible have awaited them in the great unknown? What kind of adventures were ahead? Well, we'll just have to find out, now, won't we?


	2. Chapter 2

Pokemon Legacy

Nathan and Dana were walking down a pathway just outside of town, Nathan feeling very happy to be going off on this adventure but not really showing it with his facial expressions. Dana couldn't exactly read this, though, as she started to wonder if Nathan was really okay with her tagging along, but decided not to question it. After all, it wasn't as if he'd been forced to take her with him.

Besides, now was not the time to be caught up in small affairs. The scenery here was beautiful with a clear blue sky, nice green grass, daisies in various locations and all sorts of things to see. Nathan rather liked this, but again refused to show it.

Looking around, Dana soon spotted a small dog-like creature with blue fur on its body and bit white tuft of fur covering its face. It also had a bit of blue on its back, the girl pulling out her Pokedex as the computer showed an image of the dog followed by a bunch of text underneath it.

"Lillipup," the girl read aloud, "A Puppy Pokemon. It weighs 9 pounds and is generally one foot and four inches," Nathan blinking and saying, "Wow, that's interesting. Does it say anything else?"

"I don't care about the other details," Dana replied with a smile, pulling out an empty Pokeball and saying, "All I know is it's adorable and I want it," hurling the ball at the puppy's head, the dog blinking as the projectile struck its head, opening up and consuming it, Dana raising her arm in triumph.

Nathan ended the happy moment by tapping on Dana's shoulder, the girl blinking and watching the ball rotate back and forth before opening up, splitting in half as the dog took form, growling at Dana before storming off in fury, Nathan sighing, "I may have never caught a Pokemon in my life, but even I know you have to weaken one in battle before you can capture it."

Dana's eyes were wide open as she knelt down on her hands and knees, whining, "That should have been obvious! I'm an idiot!"

Nathan slapped his forehead, slowly sliding it down his face as his eyelid temporarily stretched down, the boy removing his hand as his skin snapped back into place before he patted Dana on the head saying, "It's okay. You made a mistake. You're only just starting, after all."

Dana looked up and smiled before saying, "Thank you, Nathan," the boy simply rolling his eyes before helping the girl back to her feet, the two returning to their trip. Was befriending Dana really the right choice?

Either way, Dana was now more interested in Nathan. He seemed like a caring and friendly guy, but he only really said anything when it looked like the girl needed help. But then it hit Dana: she wasn't exactly starting any conversations with him either. This was so unlike her.

"So, did you grow up in Groerberg?" she asked with a smile as Nathan shook his head and replied, "No, I grew up on a hill with my parents, but it was mostly my mom since my dad died from a terrible illness when I was seven."

"Oh, I'm sorry to hear that," Dana replied, looking down as Nathan rolled his eyes and stated, "I feel it's best not to think of that," before thinking, 'Especially since what happened to my mom my fault.'

After a few seconds, Dana then looked back up and asked, "Why did you leave?" Nathan rubbing the back of his head before replying, "I prefer not to talk about that too."

Hearing this, Dana smiled devious and ruffled Nathan's hair asking, "Why not? Is it embarrassing?" Nathan replying, "Not really," his eye twitching a bit as Dana exclaimed "Come on, tell me! I won't breathe a word of it to anyone!"

"IT'S PERSONAL, OKAY!" Nathan spat, a look of fury in his eyes as Dana backed up, shaking as Nathan put on a look of worry, sighing and replying, "Sorry for snapping at you..." Dana shaking her head and saying, "That's okay. I shouldn't have pestered you."

Nathan simply nodded as the two decided it didn't matter too much and went back to walking. Nathan didn't normally yell like that, but his past was one of the few things he preferred not to share with anyone. It wasn't that it was embarrassing but rather that it was just out-right terrible. He wasn't exactly the most social guy around, so a further blow to his image would only dig the hole he was already in deeper than before.

Soon the group entered a forest, Dana looking around and trembling a bit, Nathan sighing as he held out his hand, looking away from the girl as she held his saying, "Thank you," in a quiet tone, Nathan rolling his eyes and asking, "Are you sure you're up to this journey?" Dana nodding while scowling a bit.

However, as much as the girl hated to admit it, Nathan did have a point. Dana had always grown up rather scared of forests, often fearing that she'd get eaten by a dangerous Pokemon in one. However, being with Nathan made her feel a tad safer, just safe enough for her to endure this.

As the two made their way forward, Nathan heard a noise as he held his finger up to Dana's mouth, hushing her to make sure she wouldn't give away their position. With that, the two slowly made their way over to some bushes, Nathan's eyes wide with shock at what he saw next.

A pair of trainers dressed in black clothing similar to what Nathan wore stood in front of a young boy around the same age as Nathan and Dana, the boy trembling as he backed up into a corner, returning what looked like a beaten up green-furred monkey into a ball, saying, "Back off, or I'll bust out my Kung Fu!" making forced battle poses as the two trainers in black simply laughed, a young woman remarking, "Come on, kid, just hand over the Pansage," the boy cuddling the ball against his cheek whimpering, "Why won't you just leave me alone!"

Seeing these people filled Nathan with an anger and hatred he hadn't felt in years. Oh, sure, bringing up his past annoyed him, but it never truly made him angry. However, just the sight of these two set his blood to a boil, Dana staring as Nathan stepped out from behind the bush shouting, "HEY, LEAVE THAT GUY ALONE!"

Dana's eyes sparkled briefly before the girl put on a serious expression, stepping out as well asking, "Yeah, who do you think you are!"

The trainers turned around, looking rather unamused as the male of the duo remarked, "If you must know, we are highly valued members of the great organization known as Team Shadow," the female nodding before adding, "Our master collects Pokemon for his own deeds to help the world become a better place, so hand over your Pokemon or else we'll take them by force."

"That's a load of bullshit and you know it!" Nathan retorted as the two Team Shadow agents stared, blinking as the boy asked, "Say, have we met somewhere before?" Nathan's eyes going wide as he shook his head remarking, "No, no, you definitely haven't," Dana rather confused by this reaction but refusing to question it.

The other boy simply sat against a tree, refusing to question any of this as the Team Shadow agents pulled out two Pokeballs each, hurling them forward as a Pokemon emerged from each. The male of the group had summoned two bats with blue fur covering their faces along with a pink pin-shaped thing over their mouths with black hearts in the middle. This particular creature was known as Woobat.

The girl had sent in two of a small stone-like being with small brown feet, what looked like a brown stone feather atop its light and a yellow eye that looked like it had been carved into it. This was Roggenrolla.

Seeing this, Nathan turned to Dana and said, "Alright, since you're a beginner, I'll give you all the information you need to know," pointing at the Roggenrollas stating, "Those Pokemon are weak against grass types, water types, ground types and fighting types. Since I have two Pokemon capable of facing them, I should be the one to take them."

"What about those bat things?" Dana asked as Nathan replied, "They may not be weak against fire, but they're not strong against it either, so Tepig should be fine, but be careful. You will be outnumbered."

With that, Nathan pulled out a ball sending in Sammy and Zelda as Dana summoned Pyro, the pig looking at the bats and closing its eyes smugly, waving its hoof as if to say 'That's it?' the male trainer feeling insulted by this.

However, upon noticing Nathan's Drilbur, he pointed and said, "Look, he has a Drilbur," the female smacking the back of his head and sighing, "Lots of trainers have Drilburs. It's just coincidence."

Dana noticed Nathan had a look of relief as if those two had come close to discovering some kind of secret he was hiding. But that didn't matter right now as Nathan regained his composure shouting, "SAMMY, HIT EM WITH MUD SLAP!"

With that, before the two Roggenrollas could even react, Sammy dug up two hug clods of dirt with her claws and hurled them into the rocks, causing them to topple over, the two already taking in a good amount of damage. Unfortunately, though, Mud Slap was one of the weakest ground moves in existence, so while this dealt double to the rocks what it would have to most Pokemon, it still didn't do a whole lot.

However, it didn't matter too much as the two were delayed long enough for Nathan to look over Zelda's move list quickly, the female trainer shouting commands only to get no immediate response as Nathan shouted, "USE VINE WHIP!" the Snivy blinking and tilting her head to the side, Nathan groaning, "Oh no, she's too inexperienced..." as the rocks finally came to, ramming their bodies hard into the snake and mole. This was a simple beginner technique known as Tackle, and while it was common, it was still effective and certainly dealt enough damage to the two to show a descent effect.

Pyro was having even worse luck, what with him being outnumbered and all as both bats flapped their wings and sent rough winds into the Tepig. This was a commonly-found flying type move known as Gust.

After a while, Pyro lost his temper as one of the Woobats flew at him, the pig turning around and ramming his tail into its face. This didn't really deal any damage, but it did slow the creature down as he proceeded to ram his body into it.

"My god, Pyro, that move you just used was Tail Whip!" Dana squealed as the pig grinned smugly. Tail Whip was a move that if successful lowered the defensive capabilities of a Pokemon for the remainder of the battle it was used in.

However, while this Woobat may have been out, the other was still going as it glowed purple, sending a strange force into the pig as his eyes started to spin, the pig smacking himself with his hoof. He had just been hit with confusion and its special ability had just taken effect.

Nathan wished he could have helped out, but he was still busy as the Roggenrollas hit Sammy and Zelda with their fifth tackle attack, the mole and snake breathing heavily as Nathan muttered to himself, "It seems as if this is the only attack they know..." then realized this made them predictable opponents as he shouted, "ZELDA, SAMMY, WAIT FOR THEM TO ATTACK THEN DODGE TO THE RIGHT!"

As the two went in for another tackle, Sammy and Zelda leaped to the side, Sammy sending her claws into the side of one Roggenrolla before hitting it with another Mud Slap. Zelda's eyes glowed yellow as she glared at the other, an aura surrounding it as Zelda proceeded to ram into it. A tackle wouldn't have normally done much to a rock type, but in this case, it did a descent amount of damage as the aura was a result of Leer, a move that, like Tail Whip, lowered the opponent's defense.

However, Nathan was rather surprised to see the two still get up as he asked, "Wait, why aren't they done for yet?" as the female trainer grinned wickedly while explaining, "It's a little technique called Sturdy. It allows Roggenrolla to endure one extra move before going down for good," Nathan simply blinking as he asked, "That all?" before having Sammy use mud slap on the two rocks, knocking them out for good as the female trainer lowered her head.

Proud of his first victory as an official trainer, Nathan was about to help out Dana when he noticed that Woobat no longer had the advantage over Pyro, the pig somehow standing on the creature's wings as he snorted an flame known as ember from his nostrils into its face. The bat was now covered in burns as it passed out, the male gritting his teeth and returning the bat shouting, "YOU HAVEN'T HEARD THE LAST OF US!" the two fleeing for their lives as Nathan shouted, "HEY, GET BACK..." but was too late as the two had fled faster than he'd expected them to.

The boy sitting against the tree had his eyes wide open before saying, "You guys are awesome..." before sighing and looking down before adding, "Unlike me. I'm just a loser."

Nathan blinked as Sammy walked over to the boy, rubbing his cheek lightly with the flat end of her claws as the boy smiled saying, "Thanks..." Dana letting out a sigh and folding her arms retorting, "What kind of attitude is that? You're clearly a trainer! Shouldn't you have more confidence in yourself!"

The boy simply shook his head and remarked, "I'm not fit to be a trainer. I've been in 10 battles with my Pansage and we haven't won any of them."

At that moment, Nathan walked over to the boy and helped him up, dusting him off a bit before saying, "Look, man, no one in this world is perfect. I'm sure if you try hard enough, you'll succeed eventually. You just need confidence."

The boy blinked, his eyes sparkling as he smiled saying, "Wow, the way you said that was very inspiring," Dana once again confused by the fact that Nathan was the one giving this speech, but she decided not to question this and said, "My name's Dana and this here's Nathan," shaking the stranger's hand.

The boy let out a light chuckle and said, "Right, I forgot to introduce myself. I'm Jason," Nathan pointing at his Pokemon stating, "These are my Pokemon, Sammy and Zelda," Jason's jaw dropped as he asked, "You nicknamed them?" Dana nodding and replying, "My Tepig is named Pyro."

"Wow, that is so cool," Jason replied as he held up his Pokeball saying, "From now on, I'm gonna call my Pansage Mighty. Maybe that'll give him more confidence," Nathan blinking and replying, "I thought it was you who needed it..." before shrugging and deciding not to question this further.

"Hey, can I join you two?" Jason asked as Nathan's eyes went wide, the boy not sure whether or not to agree to such a thing as Dana cut in and said, "Sure. The more the merrier, right?" Jason letting down light tears saying, "Thank you," before giving Dana a hug, the girl's eyes wide with shock as Jason soon let go, the boy laughing nervously and saying, "Sorry, it's just that I don't have many people to talk to now that I'm travelling and all."

And with that, Jason was officially in the group as the trio carried on through the forest. Luckily for them, Jason knew of a town just a few miles from where they were, so already he was starting to show his worth.

While the three continued their trek, Dana looked at Nathan and said, "Hey, um, this might not be my business, but did you know those two Team Shadow guys?" Nathan blinking before replying, "No, I don't. Didn't I make that clear before?"

"You sound like you're lying," Dana remarked with a cross look, Nathan sighing and pinching his forehead before stating, "Look, I had no idea who those two were, but I do know of Team Shadow's existence. They've, um, tried to steal from Groerberg before..."

Of course, the only true thing Nathan had just said was that he knew Team Shadow. The other two points were lies. But how did Nathan know those two agents? Well, that certainly wouldn't be answered soon as Dana and Jason bought his lie.

All in all, things had certainly started to get more interesting.


	3. Chapter 3

Pokemon Legacy

Note: Heads-up, there are gonna be a few songs I thought up for this fic inserted into the story. Come up with your own melodies.

As the group carried on through the forest, Nathan heard his stomach growl, his eyes going wide as Dana rubbed her tummy saying, "I guess we should stop for food," as Jason nodded and reached around his pack, pulling a frying pan out of a sheath as Nathan and Dana stared, Nathan asking, "How did I not see that earlier?"

Jason grinned as he set the pan down, picking up some sticks and creating a pile of them, pulling out a match and lighting it before dropping it on the pile of wood, lighting it as well. With that, he pulled a butcher knife out of another sheath on the side of his belt, Nathan once again surprised that he hadn't noticed it there earlier.

Jason then pulled out an assortment of spices from his pockets, Dana amazed by all of this as the boy asked, "Does anyone have anything to cook?"

There was a silence in the area as Nathan pulled out a vial of worms saying, "I got Sammy's food," Jason narrowing his eyelids and remarking, "That'll not fill us up for the rest of the day."

He then noticed that a tree right behind him had fruit on it as he grinned and said, "That'll do," summoning a monkey with green and white fur out from his Pokeball saying, "Mighty, go up and get that fruit," the monkey nodding and climbing up the tree, dropping the fruit down as Jason picked up the pan, catching the fruit in that.

"Wait, hold on," Nathan said, disbelief in his eyes, "What exactly are you doing?"

"Well, if you must know," Jason replied with a smile, "I'll tell you."

With that, he twirled around his knife before starting to sing of all things, "When I was but a lad, I one day asked my dad 'What career should I pursue?' He looked at me and said, 'My son, you see, the answer to this question lies in you,'" Nathan blinking in confusion as Dana shrugged.

"Find out your true calling on your own," Jason added as he juggled the fruit, "You could have a career cracking bones. Maybe you could be a doctor or a barber, but you and only you should know."

"Can't you just say this?" Nathan asked as Jason ignored him while he started to twirl before adding, "I figured maybe I could be a lawyer or a priest, but none of those beliefs were true," before holding up his knife with a wide grin adding, "Then I noticed my mom's butcher knife and knew what I should do."

Nathan and Dana blinked, refusing to question this any further as the boy threw the fruit into the air, slicing it open with grace and ease as it fell onto the pan while singing, "I will be a cook, I will be a cook! As you can see, I'm better at it than I look," proceeding to add spices to the fruit while explaining, "To be a teacher or librarian was never meant to be, the life of a chef is just the life for me."

He then proceeded to pick a bunch of berries as Mighty snatched a coconut from a tree, cracking it open as he started to clack the ends together as Jason stated, "I could gone on to be a construction worker, building homes for orphans and old folks. I could have been a comedian and told a bunch of offensive jokes," before flipping over the fruit and adding more spices before adding, "But that wasn't for me, that much is true, there are others not for me too. But when I saw this butcher knife, I knew what I must do."

Nathan and Dana had finally started to accept this odd behaviour and started clapping along to the melody Pansage was providing as Jason belted, "I will be a cook! I will be a cook! As you can see, I'm better at it than I look! I could have been a boxer, artist, cop or builder too, but to be a chef is just what I am meant to do!"

With that, the meal was ready as he made a plate for everyone including the Pokemon, Nathan blinking as he and Dana stared at each other, shrugging and tasted some of the food, their eyes sparkling as Nathan couldn't even hide his amazement. Jason simply smiled as if this was a normal reaction to his cooking. After tasting this, neither Nathan nor Dana would have doubted that likely was the case.

After dinner, Nathan let out a sigh saying, "Well, that was satisfying," Dana smiling widely while adding, "You are amazing, Jason. Please cook for us every day," Jason shrugging and replying, "Well, if you insist."

"I must admit, for a guy who calls himself a loser, you sure are talented," Nathan added as Jason's eyes sparkled before the sparkles faded, Jason sighing, "Now if only I was that good at winning battles."

At that moment, Nathan noticed a big purple bug-like creature crawl by, pulling out his Pokedex as it stated this creature was a Venipede. Looking at its stats, he had to admit he was impressed as he quickly got up and pointed at it shouting, "Sammy, give that bug a taste of your scratch attack!"

Sammy looked up and quickly gulped down the rest of her food before rushing at the bug, the insect unable to respond as it took in a fierce scratch to the face, a bit of green blood coming from its forehead as it cringed in pain. Dana blinked, about to question this as Nathan said, "Excellent work. Now give it another!"

However, just as Sammy went in to scratch the bug again, it rolled up into a ball, a blue aura surrounding its body as Sammy's claws rammed into it, this time creating less of an impact, Nathan narrowing his eyelids. Venipede had just used Defense Curl, a move that, as the name implied, rose the user's defensive capabilities.

As Sammy rushed in to deliver another strike, Venipede curled up into a ball again, this time rolling into the mole's belly, Sammy coughing up a bit of blood as she skidded across the ground, soon falling on her back and grunting, Nathan staring with a bit of worry before the Drilbur shook her head and give him thumbs up. Nathan let out a sigh of relief. He knew one blow like this wouldn't be enough to stop his best friend.

However, he still had a reason to worry. The attack Venipede had just used a Rollout, an attack that got stronger every time it hit and never let up until it missed. This meant Venipede was still using it and was coming back for more, Sammy attempting to dodge only to be struck a second time, this time on the chin before Venipede hit her pelvis causing him to flip over the bug's head and land hard on her skull, her eyes spinning as Nathan gritted his teeth shouting, "COME ON, SAMMY, DODGE IT!"

Sammy then shook the pain off of her head as she glared with fury, an expression rarely seen from her. As Venipede closed in, Sammy dug her claws into the ground, Venipede soon hitting up against them as Sammy rose her claws, flipping the bug into the air as it soon lost its focus, its eyes spinning as he landed hard against the ground, Nathan grinning and pulling out one of his empty Pokeballs, hurling it at the bug as the ball came open, consuming the bug within.

Dana then nodded and said, "Oh, you were trying to capture it," Jason blinking and remarking, "I figured that out ten seconds after the battle started."

The ball rotated back and forth for a while before stopping, the red light soon vanishing as Nathan held up the ball with a light smile saying, "Well, buddy, we did it," petting Sammy atop the head as she smiled.

However, as soon as that smile had formed, it was gone as Sammy's eyes shot wide open, her lower lip hanging down as her eyes rolled to the back of her head. With that, the mole had passed out as Nathan stared with shock, soon returning her to her ball and sighing. He should have known Sammy wouldn't be able to go on after that. After all, she had finished a fierce battle earlier that day.

Dana placed a hand on the boy's shoulder and said, "It's okay. We'll reach a town tomorrow morning and get him to a Pokemon Center."

Nathan nodded and said, "You're right. Sammy will be okay," putting her ball away. However, as hard as he tried to hide it, he was still worried about Sammy. After all, he'd never seen her this badly beaten. Still, at least the two had been victorious and Nathan now had a third addition to his team.

Elsewhere, Jack was roaming around the forest, a look of irritation on his face as he groaned, "Why won't something cool present itself! Good god, all I've been running into all day is a bunch of useless bugs! How will I ever replaced this stupid Oshawott!"

As he said this, Oshawott was clinging to his leg, a gleeful expression on his face as Jack rolled his eyes, groaning, "And why won't you go into your Pokeball, you freak of nature!"

Suddenly, he noticed a small dinosaur-like creature walking by. It had green skin and a big spike atop its head. It also contained two razor sharp teeth coming from the sides of its mouth.

Jack simply stared at this and asked himself, "What's an Axew doing in a forest?" pausing for a few seconds before grinning and stating, "Oh well, it doesn't matter. The point is that thing is not only powerful, it's also cool! That's the perfect replacement for this stupid clown otter thing!"

However, with Oshawott being a water type, this wasn't going to be easy as Axew had an advantage over water type moves. Still, as much as Jack hated to admit it, he needed the otter's help right now. As such, he pointed at the small dragon and said, "Alright, stupid, go in there and kick that Axew around until its weak enough for me to catch it."

Oshawott nodded with a big smile on his face, his eyes sparkling. Sure, he had been called stupid countless times in one day, but he was glad to finally be of some use.

Without even waiting for a command, Oshawott leaped off of Jack's leg and sent out a torrent of water from his mouth, hitting Axew hard in the face and sending it backing up into a tree, the dragon growling as it opened its mouth, sending a torrent of fire out and hitting Oshawott hard, the otter surprisingly taking in a lot of damage from this.

However, Jack wasn't too surprised by this as Axew had not use a fire type move but rather a dragon type move known as Dragon Rage. This meant Oshawott didn't have an advantage over it.

Jack was more annoyed by something else as he waltzed over to the otter, picked him up by his tail, glared at him and spat in his face, "DON'T DO ANYTHING UNTIL I TELL YOU TO! DID YOU NOT REALIZE THAT WATER GUN WOULDN'T DO MUCH TO HIM!" Oshawott letting down tears as Jack smacked the otter, adding, "AND NO CRYING!"

Oshawott sniffed once before putting on a serious expression, wiping his eyes as Jack said, "That's better," putting the otter back down and saying, "Alright, now first use tail whip then hit it with a tackle. That should at least do something."

With that, Oshawott felt a large jolt of confidence seeing as Jack now seemed to have some faith in him, the otter charging at Axew, the dragon attempting to hit the otter with another Dragon Rage only for Oshawott to leap over the attack with grace, planting his tail hard into the dragon's head.

After that, he proceeded to ram his body hard into the dragon's gut as Axew flew backwards into the same tree it had hit earlier. Things were truly starting to look up as Oshawott held his arm in the air triumphantly, Jack blinking. He hated to admit it, but he was rather impressed by that display.

Unfortunately, this battle was far from over as Axew slowly recovered, getting back up to its feet as it shook the pain off of its head, charging at the otter with its claws raised. However, Oshawott saw the Scratch Attack coming and leaped to the side, grabbing onto the dragon's wrist and twisting it.

Jack's eyes went wide, his jaw dropped. Once again, he was impressed. That wasn't even one of Oshawott's attacks. In fact, that wasn't even a Pokemon attack. That was a technique humans used to defend themselves. Up to this point, he never believed that Pokemon were capable of that sort of thing.

However, Axew ignored the pain, scratching the otter in the face with his other hand only for Oshawott to blow a burst of water into the dragon's face. He knew Jack had advised against this, but right now, he didn't have a whole lot of options.

And as luck would have it, this Water Gun attack was more than enough due to the copious amounts of damage Axew had taken in prior to its use. As such, Jack pulled out a Pokeball and hurled it at the dragon, the ball consuming it as it started to rotate.

"Come on, work," Jack grumbled through clenched teeth, "If this works, I'll never have to rely on that stupid Oshawott in combat again."

After a few seconds, the light on the ball vanished as the ball stopped rotating. Seeing this, Jack smiled and picked up the ball saying, "Well, this is perfect. I'll never have to use you again," pulling out Oshawott's ball and trying to return the otter only for Oshawott to avoid the beam, a smile on his face as he started to clinging to Jack's leg again, the boy's eyes going wide with terror.

Of course this plan wouldn't work. Oshawott was already too attached to the boy. It wasn't as if the otter had gone into his ball before up to this point.

Jack then realized what this meant. He'd always be seen with the otter no matter how many cool alternatives he caught. He'd have to spend eternity with this embarrassment following him around everywhere in went. With that in mind, Jack let down light tears and groaned, "What did I do to deserve this?"

Soon, nightfall came as Nathan, Dana and Jason were getting ready to go to sleep. Since none of them had thought to bring sleeping bags with them, they had to rely on tree branches and leaves to provide warmth. It wasn't the most comfortable thing they could do, but it was the best they had.

"You know, aside from Sammy passing out and us meeting those Team Shadow guys, today was truly the best I've ever had," Dana said with a smile as Jason stretched while saying, "I'm just glad I have travel companions now."

Nathan didn't want to admit it, but he was happy too. Today was certainly a turning point for him. He had become a trainer, made two friends that weren't Pokemon, saved a life and even caught a Pokemon all in one afternoon. Nathan didn't show it on his face, but this was truly the greatest day of his life.

After a few minutes of just lying around, Nathan turned to Dana and said, "Goodnight, guys," closing his eyes right away, Dana rather surprised that he'd gone to sleep so quickly. Getting to sleep wasn't always as easy as it sounded. However, it had always been easy for Nathan. Despite the many hardships he'd faced, hardships he refused to share with anyone, he never had trouble sleeping when he wanted to.

Dana also wished the others goodnight in a quiet voice so not to wake Nathan up, Jason doing the same as they both slowly closed their eyes, heading off to sleep. Today had been quite an invigorating experience, but at the same time, it was a little too much to handle at the moment.

Meanwhile, in a location far from the forest, there rested the building Nathan had escaped from many months ago. The interior of this building was like that of any regular business institute. White floors, white walls, nothing out of the ordinary. Here, there were many people dressed in black.

However, we're not here to see them. No, we're here to see the man who resided in the main office on the top floor, the boss who ran this building, a young woman with short red hair with black streaks in it and wore a slightly revealing sleeveless shirt and a pair of black shorts. This was the head of this institute, Sabrina Shade.

At that moment, the two agents Nathan and Dana had faced earlier that day entered after receiving a ride to the base on the private jet, the woman looking up and saying, "You told me on the phone that you had big news. This better be good, because I don't like wasting fuel on failures."

With that, the male trainer gulped and replied, "Well, we think we might have found Nathan," Sabrina's eyes going wide as a grin formed, the woman saying, "Go on."


	4. Chapter 4

Pokemon Legacy

Note: Bob Marco is a reference to Bob Marley and "Don't Worry, Be Peppy" is a reference to "Don't Worry, Be Happy"

"So, are you absolutely certain it was him?" Sabrina asked as the female trainer nodded and replied, "I wasn't so sure of it at first. I figured maybe the similarities were just coincidence, but it had to have been him."

The male nodded before grinning at the female, the girl rolling her eyes. She hated to admit it, but the male trainer had been right all along.

"What tipped him off, exactly?" Sabrina asked as the female said, "He had black hair that went down to his shoulders, a mellow expression in his eyes most of the time and wore an all black outfit with the sleeves ripped off of his shirt."

"He also had a Drilbur that he called Sammy," the male added as Sabrina smiled and said, "Well, that's excellent news. Where did you find him?"

"Applewood Forest," the female replied as Sabrina shrugged and replied, "Well, for all I know, he's already taken care of."

The agents stood there silent, rather shocked to have heard this as the female asked, "Um... aren't you going to send a bunch of people after him?" Sabrina shaking her head and replying, "No need. I've sent Jack there to get his first Pokemon, and if he's as good as I think he is, he'll be more than enough to take care of Nathan. Besides, I need most of my agents here to help me fulfil my main goal and to help me capture more powerful Pokemon. I can't have them wasting valuable time on one person, be him a wanted man or not."

"Well, he seems to be a very skilled trainer," the female interjected, "and he has a really good ally on his side, too. Are you sure a beginner like Jack who always had to rely on Pokemon from the company vault before can do this?"

At that moment, Sabrina slammed her palm against the desk and scowled before saying ominously, "Never question Jack! He is my best employee, got it!"

The two gulped and trembled, nodding in fear as Sabrina sighed, "Dennis, Adele, you're excused," the two trainers leaving Sabrina's office as the woman took a deep breath. She had no reason to stay mad. Today was a good day for her.

Morning soon rolled around as Nathan awoke, stretching and yawning before noticing Jason already up and preparing a breakfast with more of the fruit in the forest, this time not putting a ton of spices on the fruit. Nathan figured this must have simply been because it was breakfast and that didn't require as much preparation as dinner.

Dana soon awoke too as the three released their Pokemon except for Sammy who Nathan figured was too badly injured to eat. As he watched his Venipede examine his food, Nathan sighed and said, "Sammy would have just eaten it right away without a second thought," Dana looking at Nathan and patting him on the shoulder, replying, "It's okay. It's not like Sammy's dead or anything. She just needs to recover."

Nathan nodded in understanding, still having trouble getting over this. He'd never allowed her to take in this much damage anymore. Did this make him an irresponsible trainer?

After breakfast, the trio soon found themselves in a quaint town known as Oaktown. As the name implied, everyone had an oak tree on his/her property. This was certainly interesting as Dana noticed the Center, pointing to it.

A Pokemon Center like a hospital for Pokemon. These placed had the best technology for healing the sick and injured. They were capable of curing anything a Pokemon had no matter how severe it might have been.

As the group entered, a young woman looked up from behind a counter, a big smile on her face as she waved saying, "Hi there! Welcome to the Oaktown Pokemon Center! I'm Nurse Cheerfulness!" Nathan blinking as he stared at Dana, the girl explaining, "All nurses have surnames after their personalities. I don't really get it either."

With that, Nathan approached the desk and said, "Well, I guess all of our Pokemon need healing, but this one especially needs help," holding out Sammy's Pokeball before adding, "She took in a lot of damage earlier today..." trying not to show too much concern on his face.

The nurse simply took it and nodded saying, "Well, I should be able to heal your Pokemon in no time," before putting on a cheerful smile, adding, "As the great Bob Marco says, don't worry, be peppy," the woman stepping into the back where all the equipment was.

With that, Nathan faked mild disinterest as he sat down on a couch. Dana was amazed that he could be so patient after the way he went on about how bad this situation was earlier. However, she once again failed to realize that Nathan was only pretending to be patient. The truth was that he wanted to see positive results as soon as possible. His heart was beating at an alarming rate because of how scared he was.

All the while, Jason was looking around the Center saying, "Geez, it looks exactly the same as the last one I went to," Dana staring as he turned and replied, "Oh, I've been to the Pokemon Center in Groerberg countless times, what with Mighty losing frequently and all that."

Dana nodded, figuring that was the case. However, there was something else on her mind: this visit to the Center was boring. Dana desperately needed to strike up a conversation that didn't involve Sammy's state or Jason's lack of success. But what could she talk about with these two that wasn't personal or depressing?

Nathan soon interrupted the silence as he said, "I've never allowed Sammy to be hurt this badly before..." Dana looking at him as the boy added, "Maybe I'm not that good of a trainer."

Dana then proceeded to do something she never thought she'd ever do in her life. She rose her hand and struck the side of Nathan's face, both his and Jason's eyes wide with shock.

"Get over it!" Dana exclaimed, "It's one occasion! You still won, right! I'm sure Sammy wouldn't want you acting all mopey about this! You are the best trainer among the three of us! Don't let Sammy passing out ruin that for you!"

Nathan blinked, pretending not to care about her word, however, he couldn't deny that she was right. After all, he'd given Dana a similar speech after she'd failed to catch a Pokemon for the first time. It would have been hypocritical for him to get all mopey because of one screw-up.

After a few more minutes, Jason noticed a machine with a screen that had buttons in front of it, the boy walking over and pressing some of the numbered buttons, Dana and Nathan staring with curiosity. A ringing sound soon came from the machine as a few seconds later, a young woman's face appeared on screen.

"Hey, mom, what's up?" Jason asked as the woman groaned, "Oh god, you actually found a TV phone?"

"Yes, I did," Jason replied, blinking before asking, "Why do you sound disappointed?"

"Because when you left, I wasn't supposed to hear from you again!" the woman retorted, "You were supposed to have moved out of my life and left me and your father alone to do our own things! Why do you have to keep creeping back into our lives!"

"It's not like I'm coming back," Jason remarked before scowling and adding, "I also don't quite care for your lack of affection towards your own son."

The woman took a deep breath and nodded, pinching her forehead and replying, "You're right, Jason. I guess it's only in my best interest that I worry about you to some degree," then took another deep breath, adding, "Are you taking good care of yourself?"

"Sure am," Jason replied, "My cooking skills have come in handy when it comes to survival purposes and I recently made a couple of friends. I'm travelling with them right now."

"If only that second part were true," the woman said with a sigh as Jason retorted, "I have so made friends!" then signalled the others to come over, Nathan and Dana shrugging as they got up and peered over Jason's shoulders at the screen, the woman's eyes going wide with shock, a smile forming on her face as she squealed, "Oh my god, thank you so much for befriending my son! Now he won't need to rely on me for moral support anymore!"

With that, the woman went off to suggest a celebration party with Jason's father in the background, forgetting to turn off the phone as Jason sighed, turning it off himself. Dana patted the boy on the shoulder as he let out a sigh.

"No offence, man, but your mom's kind of a bitch," Nathan stated as Jason shook his head and replied, "No, no, I've learned to get over it over the years. She didn't even want to have me. And believe you me, she'd let me know it constantly after I turned fourteen and was deemed old enough to deal with it."

Dana and Nathan stood there silent for a few seconds. This conversation had just become awkward. Dana's eyes darted back and forth as the girl searched for a distraction, soon noticing a flier posted on the wall of the Pokemon Center, walking over to it as Nathan decided to follow her, also wanting to avoid talking about Jason's parent issues. Jason soon wanted in on what they were looking at too as he walked over.

"Wow, the Ultimate Pokemon Challenge," Dana said with her eyes sparkling as Nathan asked, "What's that?" Jason replying, "It's when trainers have to win ten badges from the local gyms in order to compete in a big tournament for Pokemon battles. Whoever wins is deemed the best in the region and wins a super awesome prize."

"You could probably win that," Dana said with a smile, turning to face Nathan, "You should totally enter."

"Thanks, but no thank," Nathan replied, and this time his disinterest wasn't fake. He really didn't feel the need to fight a bunch of over-competitive egomaniacs for some kind of trophy or whatever it was they were offering. Not to mention facing eight of the region's most powerful trainers for his own selfish benefit sounded like a colossal waste of time.

"Well, I'll certainly be trying out for it," Dana said with a smile as Jason added, "You might wanna get another Pokemon before trying, though," Dana nodding and replying, "I know. I'm gonna go and catch something after Pyro recovers and then take on the first gym leader."

Luckily for her, this would not require backtracking as this particular town didn't have a gym. Nathan saw no problem with this as at least he wasn't the one wasting his time fighting these guys.

After another few minutes, the Pokemon were returned as Nurse Cheerfulness smiled sweetly saying, "Have a cheerful day," waving at the three who simply left, Jason saying, "Okay, that woman freaks me out," even Dana having to admit that much cheer was too much.

Jason suggested the group go to the local store to stock up on supplies for the journey ahead, stating that they'd also need travel bags, Jack just happened to walk into town, Oshawott now riding atop his head. The boy looked around, fear in his eyes as he whimpered, "Can you please go back to hugging my leg? At least then, you're slightly less noticeable."

At that moment, he spotted Nathan as he blinked, pulling out a wanted poster issued by Team Shadow as he grinned wickedly, forgetting about Oshawott being atop his head for the townsfolk to see. Just as Sabrina had explained, he had been sent to find and deal with Nathan. Part one had now been completed and now it was time for part two.

While the three headed toward the store, Jack ran over and skidded to a halt, stopping in front of the trio while shouting, "I FINALLY FOUND YOU, NATHAN!" silence filling the air as Nathan stared before asking, "Excuse me, do I know you?"

Jack's eyes went wide open, veins forming within them as he held a forced grin on his face, his body twitching all the while. Oshawott felt his master's anger as he leaped off of the boy's head, ducking as he knew his master was going to explode.

"HOW CAN YOU NOT KNOW ME!" Jack retorted, fury in his expression, "WE USED TO BE PARTNERS!"

Dana and Jason stared at Nathan as he blinked and said, "Oh, Jack, it's you. Geez, did you get a haircut or something?" Jack pausing as he said, "Oh, right, it was longer back then..." before scowling and adding, "You still should have recognized me."

After a few seconds, Nathan sighed and asked, "Look, I know why you're here, but please. We worked well as a team, as much as it pains me to admit that. Can't you just look the other way and let me live life as I want?"

Dana and Jason were both confused by this as Jack retorted, "No! When you left, a hole opened up in my heart, a hole that can only be filled by making you pay for what you did! I don't know if Sabrina cleared this up with you or not, but once you join the organization, you are not allowed to leave!"

"What organization?" Jason asked, Dana adding, "Nathan, what's he talking about?"

Nathan let out a sigh and turned to them before stating, "Look, guys, I used to be a member of Team Shadow, alright? That means I do know who those agents from the other day are and I know why they seemed to know who I was."

Silence filled the area as Jason's jaw dropped, Dana holding her hand over her mouth. Did this mean Nathan helped steal Pokemon from innocent trainers? Jason wasn't too torn up over hearing this, though, as he could see how much Nathan regretted his former partnership with the organization and decided not to question this further. Dana, on the other hand, wasn't even sure if she could trust Nathan again, resisting the urge to punch him in the face for keeping this hidden from her.

"Oh yeah, he was one of our best," Jack replied, "He only had one Pokemon but that didn't stop him from being a valuable asset."

"Look, that life is behind me!" Nathan retorted, narrowing his eyelids, "I never even wanted to join your ranks! I only did because I had to!"

This explanation should have been enough for Dana to understand, but this only led to more confusion in her mind. She couldn't imagine any reason being good enough to convince someone to do such a horrible thing.

"Well, if you won't return willingly, I'll make you!" Jack spat, pulling out his Pokeball as Nathan asked, "What about that Oshawott?" Jack staring at the otter and replying nervously, "Oh, no, that's not my actual partner. He's just decoration. My actual partner is in this ball," Oshawott ignoring these lies as he clung to Jack's leg once again, the boy sighing and hurling the ball forward, his Axew taking form and taking on a battle pose.

Jack examined his opponent before pulling out his Pokedex, looking over Axew's profile. Seeing as this was a dragon type, he knew right off the bat that Zelda wouldn't be particularly useful, but his Venipede and Sammy were effective enough to stand up to him.

However, Jack dared not send in Sammy yet. He didn't want Sammy to end up knocked out again as he pulled out his Venipede's ball shouting, "GO HANZO!" the ball opening up as the Venipede took form, Jason saying, "Wow, good name."

Jack blinked and said, "I guess I should have expected you of all people to catch a new Pokemon during your travels, but it doesn't matter. I'll beat this one and your precious Sammy-Wammy," Jack remarking, "Don't make fun of Sammy," Jack snickering. Nathan was showing a lot more caring for the situation than usual, that's for sure.

However, while all this went on, Dana was barely paying any attention. She was still in absolute shock over what she'd heard. Was Nathan really a former criminal?


	5. Chapter 5

Pokemon Legacy

"Since I'm such a nice guy," Jack said with a fiendish grin, "I'll let you have the first move."

"You're gonna regret that," Nathan replied before shouting, "HANZO, USE ROLLOUT!"

However, rather than doing that, Hanzo instead opened his mouth, releasing a loud noise as Axew covered his ears, trembling a bit. This may not have dealt damage, but it did have an effect as this attack was known as Screech, a move that if successful lowered the defence of an opponent by a lot.

Nathan simply blinked and said, "Wow, that actually a good idea. Glad you decided to do that against my wishes. That was good thinking. Now use Rollout!"

However, Hanzo once again ignored this command and curled up into a ball, Jack taking advantage of this and grinning before shouting a command of his own, Axew charging at the bug before scratching Hanzo in the face. Hanzo's eyes glowed green briefly before the bug rose his tail, firing a needle from it and hitting Axew in the arm, the dragon cringing in pain. This was an attack known as Poison Sting.

Nathan blinked and shrugged saying, "Well, that was a good move too," however, he was a little bit annoyed now by the fact that Hanzo wasn't using Rollout like he wanted.

However, before the Venipede could do more, Jack shouted, "USE ASSURANCE BEFORE HE CAN DO MORE!" Axew's hand turning purple briefly as he rammed his palm hard into the bug's face, Hanzo's eyes swirling a bit.

Nathan was worried now. Assurance was normally a simple attack but was made twice as strong if the user had been hit before using it. This meant that Hanzo had taken in a lot of damage from an attack that normally wouldn't have done that much.

However, Hanzo ignored this, glaring with blind rage as he tucked himself into a ball, rolling toward Axew as Jack stared saying in horror. This certainly wasn't good for Axew, and things looked even worse as Axew took in a hard blow to the gut, ramming hard into a tree.

Nathan simply stared and thought, 'Hanzo may not have obeyed my commands, but he's doing fine on his own. I guess this won't be so bad after all."

However, just as Hanzo was about to hit Axew with another strike from his Rollout, the dragon grinned as Jack pointed upwards, Hanzo unable to see this action as Axew turned around and climbed up the tree he was on. Nathan grimaced and shouted, "HANZO, STOP THE ATTACK!" but Hanzo refused to listen to what he believed was really stupid advice and ended up ramming face-first into the tree, his head coming open a bit as Axew turned himself around so his head was facing Hanzo and releasing Dragon Rage.

The Venipede was unable to respond as he took in the flame, passing out as Jack grinned and exclaimed, "Now that's what I'm talking about!" Nathan sighing and returning Hanzo. If the bug had listened, that probably could have been avoided.

"Oh, man, he was so close!" Jason groaned as Dana said nothing. She was simply sitting down on a bench during all of this, staring at the battle. She still hadn't gotten over what Nathan said.

With that, Nathan realized he had to use Zelda now when he felt Sammy's ball start to rotate at an alarming rate. Soon it ended up rolling right up out of pocket as he stared, leaning down and picking it up as Jack tapped his foot impatiently.

"No, I can't use you," Nathan whispered as the ball rolled out of his grasp, flying into his face before returning to his hands, Nathan's eyes wide with shock, Dana looking up with a bit of interest for the situation now.

"You really want to do this?" Jack asked as the ball rotated up and down as if to nod, Nathan letting out a sigh and saying, "If you're sure about this, I trust you," before hurling the ball forward, Sammy taking form and putting on a battle pose, grinning with anticipation.

"Good, you finally summoned your precious Sammy," Jack said with a grin, "She's the one I want to torment the most."

"Keep telling yourself that," Nathan remarked with a smirk, but the truth was he wasn't fully confident.

He was still afraid that Sammy might end up out cold again, having to be rushed to the center a second time. But at the same time, he had to keep a level head. After all, Hanzo had dealt quite a bit of damage prior to this. It wasn't as if Axew was at full strength, right?

Sammy looked at Nathan, waiting for a command as Nathan sighed and said, "Alright, use Mud Slap," Sammy nodding and digging up a clod of dirt from the ground, hurling it at Axew only for the dragon to easily dodge it, Nathan about to tell Sammy to go in for scratch attack only to stop briefly before saying, "Try Mud Slap again..."

However, not only was this a stupid decision on his part, but he was too late to the give the order as Sammy barely picked up the clod in time for Axew to rush at her, scratching her hard in the face as the dirt flew out of her claw, landing on her head and dealing a bit of extra damage to her.

Seeing this, Jason bit his collar and groaned, "Oh no, Nathan, what are you doing!" Dana whispering, "He's being overprotective..." Jason staring while Sammy recovered from the previous blow, Nathan telling her to jump to the side and avoid an incoming Assurance only for her to fail, taking in the blow anyway.

These words couldn't have been farther from the truth. Nathan was so afraid to let Sammy get badly injured again that he'd started the battle trying to keep her as far away from Axew as possible. This only turned on him as his fear of getting her into close combat led to her getting hit. Close combat was the typical Drilbur's strong suit, so for Sammy to stay in the back and keep throwing mud was not the best initiative for her.

Sammy was soon sent back with a Dragon Rage as Axew lunged at her, Jack saying, "Wow, Nathan, you're slipping up! This next move will take her out for sure!" Nathan about to tell Sammy to dodge.

However, Dana saw right away how hopeless this plan was as she shouted, "NATHAN, STOP BEING A WIMP! POKEMON GET KNOCKED OUT CONSTANTLY DURING BATTLE! IF YOU DON'T START HAVING SAMMY USE HER MORE POWERFUL AND EFFECTIVE MOVES, IT'S GOING TO HAPPEN AGAIN!"

Nathan's eyes went wide as he nodded in understanding. Dana was once again right. By being so overprotective, he wasn't doing any good for the mole right now.

As such he grimaced as Axew threw his hand forward for a Scratch only for Nathan to shout, "SAMMY, BLOCK IT AND USE YOUR OWN SCRATCH!"

Sammy grunted, opening her eyes just in time to thrust her claws together forward like a shield, blocking Axew's claws before forcing him back, the dragon dropping his guard as Sammy scratched him hard down the middle, a bit of blood coming out. Before Nathan could even give another command, Sammy threw her claws forward at a rapid pace, striking Axew multiple times before he passed out, Nathan putting a light smile on his face. Not only had Sammy won, but she also learned an attack called Fury Swipes.

Dana smiled briefly before putting on a more neutral expression, going back into her trance. Jason simply stared a bit before shrugging and figuring this was nothing to be worried about yet.

Jack's jaw dropped as Nathan grinned, saying, "Try as you might, you'll never beat us when we're at our best. Sammy's the best partner I could ever ask for. Now go."

"Wait, I'm not done yet!" Jack spat as he pried Oshawott off of his leg adding, "I still have him!"

"The Oshawott?" Nathan asked, tilting his head to the side before adding, "Didn't you say he was just for decoration?" Jack blinking, his eyes shifting all over the place before the boy shook his head saying, "No, I said he's my backup. You must have misheard it," Oshawott's eyes sparkling, the otter happy to hear this.

Jack hated to admit it, but he really didn't have any other choice right now. It was either send in Oshawott or accept defeat, and Jack hated to admit to defeat a lot more than he hated having to use Oshawott.

With that, he sighed and set down the otter saying, "Go kick that mole's butt," before Nathan returned him saying, "I don't think so. Sammy's taken in more than enough pain. I need to know my limits, after all."

"Wait, but you don't have any other Pokemon," Jack remarked as Nathan sighed, "To the best of your knowledge," the boy pulling out a third Pokeball before hurling it into the area, Zelda taking form with a smile on her face, the snake just happy to be useful again.

'Great, he's got a grass type,' Jack through with a grimace before saying, "Oshawott, don't you dare use Water Gun until I tell you to, got it?" the otter nodding before turning back to face the Snivy, Nathan gulping, but refusing to show how nervous he was.

Sure, Zelda was a grass type which, by nature, had an advantage over water types. The only problem was she didn't know any grass moves, so this would still be difficult for sure.

With that in mind, Nathan commanded Zelda to start things off with Leer as she did just that, Oshawott taking full of advantage of this as he charged toward the Snivy, wanting ever-so-much to further impress his master, performing a front flip in the air and ramming his tail hard into the snake's skull. Jack breathed a sigh of relief before giving another command, Oshawott ramming his elbow hard into the snake's face. Both had lost a bit of their defense, sure, but Oshawott had gotten the upper hand.

Still, that didn't mean Zelda was out for good. By nature, she should have been faster than the otter. As such, Nathan smiled and shouted, "ZELDA, HIT HIM WITH YOUR OWN TACKLE!"

However, as Zelda rushed at Oshawott, the otter saw it coming and leaped to the side. However, the Snivy was prepared for this as she smiled, turning around and unleashing another Tackle, this one hitting Oshawott hard, sending him back a bit.

Oshawott tried to go in for another Tackle, but Zelda simply outdid him at every turn, ramming her head hard into him each time. Seeing this, Jack realized he couldn't possibly get Oshawott close enough as he sighed and said, "Oshawott, use Water Gun."

With that, the otter's cheeks puffed up before Oshawott unleashed a torrent of water from his mouth, hitting Zelda hard before she could hit him with another tackle, sending her back. Jack smiled and realized this was giving him an advantage. Sure, the damage dealt by Water Gun was cut in half due to Zelda's type advantage, but it also kept her from hitting the otter as he had Oshawott continue the assault.

Seeing this, Nathan grimaced and realized there was only one move that could save the snake now, but Zelda didn't know it. As such, Nathan pulled out his ball as Zelda saw this, gritting her teeth and refusing to let her master down. As such, she let out a battle cry, lifting up her arms as vines sprouted from her armpits, flying forward and striking the sides of Oshawott's head, the otter's eyes going wide with shock as he passed out, falling flat on his face.

Seeing this, Jack's eyes went wide with shock, his mouth twitching as he slowly pointed forward, not believing what he had just seen. Nathan's eyes sparkled briefly before the boy put his tough guy facade back on, faking a cough before saying, "Good job, Zelda," returning the snake as he said, "Now beat it, Jack."

Looking at Oshawott, Jack actually felt a bit of concern as he pulled out his ball saying, "Return, you little brat," the otter returning as Jack stared at the ball for a few seconds before stuffing it in his pocket shouting, "You haven't seen the last of me!" looking around before spotting the Pokemon center shouting, "I'll have my Pokemon recover then I'll come back for more!" taking off toward the building as Nathan rolled his eyes and said, "Whatever you say, spazz."

At that moment, Dana got up, staring at Nathan as he sighed, "Look, Dana..." the girl shaking her head and refusing to listen as she took off from the area, Nathan trying to fake a lack of concern but couldn't, a look of worry forming on his face. His first human friend and she ditched him, Jason shaking his head and folding his arms saying, "Go back to the center. I'm sure your Pokemon will need to be healed after that."

"But what about...?" Nathan started to ask as Jason shook his head and replied, "I'll talk to her, okay? I don't think she wants to talk to you right now," the boy heading off to where Dana had run, Nathan letting out a sigh and nodding, heading off to the Pokemon center.

But why had Dana fled? Was she really this upset over Nathan being an ex-Team Shadow member? If that was the case, then why did she help him during his battle? This was so confusing.

Dana was off on a bench with Pyro out of his ball. The pig may not have shown much care towards others before, but right now, he was a tad worried about Dana. After all, this was not the confident, strong master he'd approved of.

As such, he walked over to a tree, used his ember to burn a section of a branch, causing the rest to fall off, doing the same with a few others before placing them atop his head like antlers, using his ears to hold them in place. Dana simply looked up, smiling lightly for a few seconds before resting her chin against her hands, looking down again.

Pyro rolled his eyes and decided to search the area for crumbs people left lying around, Jason finding her and approaching the girl, sitting down next to her and looking at her for a few seconds. After a few seconds, he smacked the side of her face as Dana's eyes went wide, the girl rubbing her cheek with a look of disbelief.

"What is wrong with you!" Jason snapped, Dana still staring as the boy sighed, "You could have at least congratulated him for his victory!"

"But he's a liar!" Dana retorted as Jason stated, "That's true, but I'm pretty sure the way you're acting now is the very reason he kept it secret. He may have had a great reason for joining Team Shadow, but how else were we supposed to take the news?"

Dana thought about that for a few seconds and nodded. Jason had a very good point. But his next point was even better as he asked, "If you distrust him so much right now, then why did you stay and watch his battle? Better yet, why did you help him get over his negativity when Sammy was about to lose?"

Dana froze, not sure how to respond. That was a very good question indeed. After a few seconds, the girl sighed, realizing the answer as she said, "Because I know he's a good guy and that he'd never try to hurt us on purpose. He had a good reason to keep his secret bottled up and I'm sure he wouldn't become a Team Shadow agent without a good reason."

"There, was that so hard?" Jason asked, patting the girl on the shoulder before getting up and saying, "He should be just about done in the Pokemon center. You should go hug him and make up or whatever," the boy wandering off when he noticed a store that sold food ingredients.

Dana nodded, a smile forming on her face as she got up, approaching Pyro and picking him up saying, "Hey, there. Thanks for trying to cheer me up," rubbing her nose against his snout, the pig's eyes wide with shock, much so that he wasn't even willing to react to this degrading show of affection towards him.

With that, Nathan exited the center with his Pokemon fully restored back to health when he noticed Dana standing there. The two stared at each other for a few seconds, each one silent. After half-a-minute, Dana ran over to Nathan and gave him a big hug, Nathan shrugging, a light smile forming on his face as he patted the girl's back. All had turned out well in the end.


	6. Chapter 6

Pokemon Legacy

Jack sat in the center as Nurse Cheerfulness smiled and said, "You're Pokemon are all better now," the boy walking over and picking up his balls, not even bothering to thank the woman. Luckily for him, Cheerfulness was always cheerful, so it wasn't as if she really cared.

As he left, Oshawott immediately forced himself out of Pokeball and squealed happily, hugging his master's leg once again. Jack had actually cared enough to have him healed. That was no small feat coming from him.

Seeing Oshawott doing this, Jack grimaced and spat, "Would you stop doing that! I should have just found a river and chucked your ball into it!" before pausing and thinking, 'I could have... but I didn't... why didn't I do it?'

After a few seconds, he figured it must have been because he didn't yet have enough Pokemon in his arsenal to feel safe without a backup. After all, he only had one other Pokemon. That was bad news if he was attacked and Axew was out cold.

Meanwhile, Nathan and the others were wandering along a field just outside of Oaktown. At this moment, Dana was on high alert in search of a Pokemon to add to her team. After a while, Nathan pointed at a pigeon-like creature known as Pidove, Dana shaking her head, deciding it wasn't cute enough for her team.

As the pigeon flew off, Nathan's eyes sparkled. He thought the creature looked absolutely beautiful, but it was too late to consider catching it. Hopefully he'd see another one later.

After a while, she saw it: the perfect Pokemon for her, the girl's eyes sparkling all the while. It was a flying squirrel-like mammal with white on its front and black on its back. Its cheeks had yellow circles on them and its eyes were absolutely adorable.

Pulling out her Pokedex, Dana looked over the Pokemon's information and said, "According to this, that's an Emolga. Even though it's a flying type, it's also an electric type meaning it's not weak against electric attacks and even has an advantage over grass type moves."

With that, Dana pulled out her Pokeball before saying, "What's more is that it's cute, and that makes it right for me," hurling her ball forward as Pyro took form, yawning as if he'd woken up from a nap, noticing the Emolga before him and putting on a more serious look, knowing it was time for business.

"Alright, Pyro, hit it with Ember!" Pyro releasing a flame from his snout, Emolga distracted by a flower and not noticing as the rodent was hit hard in the back, burns forming.

At that moment, Emolga turned to face Pyro, staring for a few seconds as the pig grinned with pride, Dana about to shout another command only to stop when she heard a sniffle. Nathan slapped his forehead, Jason shaking his head as the Emolga broke out into tears and started crying, Pyro rolling his eyes and looking at Dana, thrusting his head in the direction of the flying mouse, seeing this as the perfect opportunity to add to the damage.

However, when Dana saw the creature sobbing, she ran over to the Emolga and wrapped her arms around it saying, "I'm sorry, little Emolga. I didn't mean to hurt you that badly," Nathan and Jason face-palming as Pyro started questioning his decision to join Dana again, the squirrel wrapping its arms around her neck before grinning wickedly.

With that, Emolga's cheeks sparked as the rodent sent an electric current down Dana's spine, the girl slamming the creature against the ground and backing up, breathing heavily and shouting, "YOU TRICKED ME!" Jason remarking, "No offence, but what did you think was going to happen?"

With that, Dana fumed, folding her arms and retorting, "Clearly you are too uncivilized for my team," before looking into the Emolga's now excited eyes, sighing, "But you're just too cute..." shouting, "ALRIGHT, PYRO, LET'S TEACH THIS EMOLGA A LESSON!" Pyro grinning, glad to see her coming back to her senses.

With that, Dana shouted a command as Pyro sent another Ember toward the flying squirrel only for Emolga to soar over it, ramming its body hard into the pig's face, Pyro cringing and attempting to respond with Tail Whip only to miss, the flying squirrel soaring through the air and lowering its eyelid, sticking out its tongue all the while as Pyro fumed. Emolga had just used Quick attack, a simple body blow that couldn't be dodged normally.

However, as if this wasn't enough, Emolga proceeded to send an electric current down towards the pig, Pyro trying to avoid it only to end up taking in damage, squealing in pain. However, the Tepig simply shook it off, shooting another Ember only to end up missing again.

Dana frowned and thought, 'This little guy's really fast. Pyro doesn't even come close to matching its speed. I need to figure out a way to take advantage of that.'

However, her thought process ended as the Emolga went in for another Quick Attack, striking Pyro hard in the face before turning around and swooping in for more. However, Dana saw this as an opportunity, taking note of Pyro's physical strength. Hopefully the pig would be physically stronger.

However, this realization was a bit too late as Pyro took in another blow, but as Emolga went in for more, Dana shouted, "RUSH AT IT WITH A TACKLE ATTACK!" Pyro turned to face the squirrel and charging forward, the two ramming their heads into each other as Pyro ended up overpowering the rodent, sending its flying into a rock.

"Wow, that was lucky," Nathan said as Jason asked, "Why?" Nathan looking at his Pokedex and saying, "According to this, Emolgas have superior physical strength to Tepigs. I guess Pyro's just more experienced."

Whatever the reason for this miracle was, Dana used it to her advantage as she had Pyro hit Emolga with another Ember, the rodent's knocked out for good as Dana pulled out an empty Pokeball saying, "It's gotta be weak enough now," throwing the ball forward as it consumed the flying mouse, rotating a bit before the light vanished, Dana's eyes sparkling as she rose her arms in the air shouting, "I DID IT! I CAUGHT MY FIRST POKEMON!" Pyro grinning with pride.

Then letting Emolga out, the flying squirrel folded its arms as Dana sighed and nuzzled her cheek against it saying, "You're part of the team now," Emolga smiling and realizing that perhaps Dana would make for a good master.

"So, any ideas for a name?" Jason asked as Dana said, "Wait, I need to confirm something first," holding up the Emolga and looking at its lower body before saying, "From now on, you're name is Electra," Jason's eyes wide open as Nathan shrugged, asking, "How else was she supposed to tell?"

During this time, Jack had taken another route, assuming this was where Nathan and his friends went, this one more like a meadow as he looked around and grumbled, "Stupid Nathan, pulling out a fast one at the last minute," muttering curses under his breath.

After a while of looking around, he spotted something intriguing, another cool-looking Pokemon. This one had a black body with what looked like white bladed belts covering it. The top of its head was shaped like a war helmet with a sharp blade sticking out of it. It also had red arms and legs, the arms having blade-like claws sticking out of them.

As such, Jack grinned and whipped out a Pokeball, sending his Axew out as the dragon put on a battle pose, Jack saying, "This is my lucky day! I never thought I'd see a Pawniard of all things so early!"

During this time, Nathan, Dana and Jason were still carrying on, Jason asking, "Can we stop for a short break? My feet are killing me," Nathan trying to hide it, but he was a little exhausted after all that walking too.

Dana couldn't really tell, but she was feeling a bit exhausted as she nodded, the group deciding to lie down on the grass except for Nathan who figured lying down would only make it harder to get up. Dana looked at Nathan with interest as he really was a fascinating person to her. He seemed so mellow most of the time, but under certain circumstances wasn't afraid to show emotion.

Dana would have loved to know the reason behind this, but she figured it would be rude to ask. All that really mattered right now was that he was a good friend.

However, Dana really wanted to know why Nathan had joined Team Shadow. What had happened that led to such a decision? Unfortunately for her, to bring this up would be even more rude than asking about his behaviour.

After a while, Jason asked, "So, what drove you all to become Pokemon trainers?" as the two stared, taken aback by this question as Jason added, "Surely, you guys didn't do it against your will like I sort of did."

Dana nodded and replied, "I mostly wanted to do something exciting, and training just seemed like the right option. It seemed like a really fun thing to do," the two then looking at Nathan, who simply shrugged his shoulders and said, "I dunno."

"Oh, come on!" Dana remarked, "You were really eager to get started! Come on, spill the beans, man!"

Nathan let out a sigh and said, "Well, let's just say I had a little inspiration..." Jason replying, "That's not much of a reason," Dana nodding and saying, "Explain what you mean by inspiration."

Nathan tried to keep up his mellow look and ignore the question, but the two kept staring at him, and unlike the time when he snapped at Dana, this question wasn't exactly personal. As such, he eventually caved in and explained himself.

"It started when I gazed eyes upon Zelda," he said as Dana nodded and said, "Right, your Snivy," Nathan adding, "When I gazed upon her, I knew that I and no one else had to have her. Even if it meant giving up my job as Yae's janitor and involved me travelling again, I simply had to have her."

"But why?" Jason asked as Dana added, "What's so special about her?" Nathan smiling lightly and replying, "Because she was the most beautiful Pokemon I've ever seen in my life."

Dana's eyes sparkled as Jason scratched his head asking, "Really? Because to me, she kind of looks like a sto-" but was cut off when Dana nudged him, Jason clearing his throat and saying, "I mean, yeah, she's very pretty... wait, you don't seem like the kind of person who would care about that."

Jason let out a sigh and said, "Alright, I may as well share this secret with you guys since I know you won't tell," glancing at the two as Dana and Jason nodded, innocent smiles on their faces as Jason went on to say, "I know I don't show ever show it, but I've always loved beautiful things," picking up a daisy next to him and saying, "Flowers," pointing at Dana and adding, "people just as beautiful outside as they are inside," Dana's face turning red as the boy held up Zelda's ball and added, "and my precious Zelda are just a few examples."

"You really think I'm beautiful?" Dana asked as Nathan ignored that question and said, "My other reason was because of you, Dana. Growing up, I've never had human friends mostly because I couldn't bring myself to be a particularly social person."

Dana's eyes went wide with shock as the boy added, "When I saw you, the way you got all excited about getting Pyro and how you seemed so friendly... you seemed like the right person to make friends with," Dana speechless at this point. She had no idea Nathan thought so highly of her.

"Well, I think you're a great friend to have," she said as Nathan smiled lightly and replied, "Thank you..." the group then getting up as Jason said, "Well, now that we're all rested, let's go," the group heading off into the distance.

Back in the meadow, Axew's battle with Pawniard was still going on as both looked badly bruised, Axew dodging a series of slashes from Pawniard known as Fury Cutter. Seeing this, Jack was getting really impatient. This battle had gone on for a whole five minutes whereas it only took him around two to get Axew. But it only made sense. After all, none of Axew's attacks had a particularly high effect on Pawniard what with it having steel attributes.

After a few more slashes, Oshawott then pointed and made a noise with his mouth, Jack asking, "What now?" before looking over at the battle, noticing that Pawniard had left itself open, the boy grinning as he spat, "AXEW, HIT HIS MID-SECTION WITH A SCRATCH ATTACK!"

However, rather than using that, dragon instead sent a pair of karate chops into the creature's mid-section, Jack glad to see Axew had learned Dual Chop, Pawniard going down for the count as Jack grinned, sending in a Pokeball as it consumed the creature, rotating for a few seconds and coming to a stop.

"NOW THAT'S WHAT I'M TALKING ABOUT!" Jack shouted with pride, holding up the ball with Pawniard inside and saying, "Excellent work, Axew," returning the dragon as he sighed, "Now if only he'd hug my leg instead of you, Oshawott," the otter clinging onto said spot as Jack sighed, "Oh well, you did help me a bit. I guess you're not completely useless."

After a while, Nathan, Dana and Jason arrived in a town known simply called Violet Town. The reason was unknown as there didn't seem to be anything representing such a title here.

Either way, Dana only cared about one thing. There was a gym here and she was going to have her first official gym battle. But first, the group had to take a trip over the Pokemon center. Pyro and Electra weren't going to heal themselves, after all.

As they arrived, a much more stressed nurse was at the counter as Dana approached, the woman asking, "Oh, god, let me guess, you're here to have your Pokemon healed, aren't you?" Dana about to question this rudeness as the woman spat, "Well, fine, but if I see you return here later, I'm not healing them again!"

"What?" Dana asked as Jason said, "Oh yeah, I've heard about this one, the infamous Nurse Stress, said to be the easiest person to succumb to work-related stress," Nathan slapping his forehead as Dana said, "Oh, so it's natural," the nurse asking, "Are you going to hand your Pokemon over or not?" Dana trembling as she did so, the nurse storming off into the back room to get them healed.

"She scares me," Dana said as Nathan placed a hand on her shoulder and said, "Trust me, I too think it wouldn't hurt for her to go against what her name implies," the group sitting down.

Once the Pokemon were ready, Stress gave them back to Dana and spat, "NOW DON'T YOU DARE COME BACK!" Dana holding in tears as the group left, Jason patting her on the shoulder and saying, "Hey, she's just like that, okay? It's not like you're the only one she does this to."

"Still, she could have been more courteous," Dana replied as Nathan rolled his eyes and said, "Come on, you have a gym battle to fight."

With that, the two soon found a blue building, a sign saying, 'Gym' in front of it, the group realizing this was the place and heading inside. Upon entering, Dana's eyes sparkled. This place was beautiful. The walls were made of glass and behind the glass was an aquarium with all kinds of water Pokemon swimming around.

After walking quite a bit, she soon found herself in a room with a small deep pool in the centre of the floor and a young woman wearing a swimming instructor's outfit standing there saying, "Hi there, I'm Pamela. Are you here for a gym battle?"

Nathan blinked and asked, "Do you always dress like that?" Pamela nodding and replying, "It helps keep up my image as this is a water themed gym. So, who's here to challenge me?" Dana raising her hand as Pamela bowed and said, "Well, let's get started, shall we?"

"Wait, how does this work?" Dana asked as Pamela stopped, blinked and said, "Right, the rules, of course, silly me," laughing a bit before saying, "Since my gym is generally for beginners, we'll only use two Pokemon each. You're also not allowed to switch any of your Pokemon out, but I can guarantee other gym leaders won't make a rule like that. Whoever still has a Pokemon standing by the end of the battle wins."

Nathan and Jason gave Dana thumbs up as she nodded, smiling with confidence before sending in Pyro saying, "Alright, let's show her a thing or two!" Pyro grinning with pride as Nathan and Jason stared, their eyes twitching as Dana asked, "Is something wrong?"

Nathan then pointed at the glass walls with the water and sea creatures surrounding the area, Dana still confused as Nathan sighed, "It's a water themed gym. Her Pokemon are probably water types, duh."

Pamela nodded and said, "How very precise," before sending in small blue duck known as Ducklett, Dana now a tad worried as Pyro didn't seem to care about his type disadvantage. This was going to be hard.


	7. Chapter 7

Pokemon Legacy

Dana had made a big mistake choosing Pyro to start the battle. As if it wasn't bad enough Ducklett was a water type, it was also a flying type. Pyro had quite a bit of trouble with the last two he'd fought. Dana was certain this one wouldn't be any easier to hit.

Still, this was an important battle for her. After all, it was her first gym battle. She needed to keep a level head no matter what. With that in mind, the girl took a deep breath and calmed down. As long as she had a good strategy, this could all work out in the end.

However, before Dana could say anything, Ducklett took to the skies as Pamela grinned and shouted, "Alright, Ducklett, let's start things off with Water Gun!" the duck opening her bill and releasing a torrent of water, Dana shouting, "PYRO, DODGE IT!" the pig barely dodging the water blast in time as Dana sighed with relief and said, "I know this won't do much, but there aren't a whole lot of options. Hit her with Ember!"

Unfortunately, just as expected, Ducklett easily dodged the attack, Pyro growling and snorting flames from his nostrils as Dana had him use another only for the pig to miss once again. As if that wasn't bad enough, Ducklett proceeded to flap her wings releasing a strange blade-like wind, but when it hit Pyro it didn't seem to do any damage.

That didn't necessarily mean Pyro was in the clear as he was soon struck by Ducklett's wing, taking in a move aptly named Wing Attack. Dana just stared with shock, Nathan asking, "Hey, what was that strange wind Ducklett used?"

"That was Defog," Pamela stated with a proud smile, "It lowers the evasive qualities of any opponent it hits, meaning that Pyro is now less likely to avoid attacks than before."

Dana gulped and thought, 'This means we'll have to finish that bird quickly otherwise Pyro could get hurt again,' then looking over the Pokedex noticed a move called Odour Sleuth that removed any evasion alterations from a Pokemon. The only problem was that it could only worked on the opponent, not the user.

That hardly mattered as Pyro was struck by another Wing Attack, Dana then noticing a certain flight pattern shouting, "AIM YOUR EMBER ATTACK TO THE RIGHT!" Pyro doing just that as Ducklett took in the move, crowing out in pain as Pamela smiled and said, "Impressive, but not good enough."

With that, she gave another command as Ducklett easily recovered from the Ember, shooting a blast of water at Pyro. The pig tried his hardest to dodge, but thanks to his drop in evasion, he ended up tripping and struggling to stay upright just as the water hit him hard, sending him toward Dana who quickly caught the pig in her arms, holding on tight as she was backed up against the wall, groaning in pain.

It was official. Pyro was out cold as Jason groaned, "Just as she was getting the hang of it," Nathan sighing, "Honestly, she was doomed from the start. It may be possible to overcome one's weakness with a good strategy and a great deal of battle experience, but I'm certain this Ducklett has been in way more battles than Pyro and Pamela is a much more skilled trainer."

"Wow, that was amazingly..." Jason said, his eyes shifting around before he came up with the right word, saying, "unsupportive of you," Nathan shrugging and saying, "I'm telling it as it is, and it's non-supportive, not unsupportive."

Still, Jason did have a point. Nathan was surprisingly more negative about this than usual. Still, he had a point. But did this mean he had lost faith in his friend? Of course not for she had something much better in store.

Ducklett perched herself on Pamela's shoulder as the woman stroked the bird's head saying, "Good job, but I think you went a little overkill with that last attack," the duck letting down a sweat drop as Dana returned Pyro, saying, "Well, I think you did a good job," before saying, "You may have won this round, Pamela, but you haven't even seen my best."

Pamela smiled in anticipation and shouted, "Alright! I can't wait to see what you got in store now!" as Dana hurled her last Pokeball forward, the ball opening up as an Emolga took form, Pamela grinning and saying, "Now that's more of a challenge."

"Now this battle's in the bag," Nathan said, and he was absolutely certain of this too. Not only did Electra have an advantage over water types, but she was also strong against flying types, and since Ducklett was both, the damage she'd take in from an electric attack would be quadrupled.

However, Pamela wasn't willing to let that get her down as she had Ducklett open up with Defog then proceed to fly at Emolga for a Wing Attack. However, despite the drop in evasion, the flying rodent dodged to the side with grace as Dana shouted, "EXCELLENT WORK! NOW HIT HER WITH A THUNDER SHOCK!" Electra releasing a fierce blast of electricity from her cheeks, Ducklett taking the blow fast and hard as she fell to the ground and lost consciousness.

Seeing this, Pamela returned Ducklett and grinned saying, "Wow, that was really impressive," Dana giving her Emolga a hug and squealing, "That was awesome!" Electra smiling brightly.

However, this battle wasn't quite over as Pamela threw one last Pokeball forward, this one opening up to reveal a blue tortoise with a grey shell and nose. Dana and Nathan pulled out their Pokedexes and found out that this was Tirtouga, a water and rock type. But while Electra's flying type moves wouldn't be all that powerful against the tortoise, electric attacks were still super effective.

With that, Dana smiled and said, "I was actually worried for a second," before shouting a command, Electra firing her Thunder Shock toward Tirtouga.

But just as the attack was about to hit, Pamela smiled with confidence as the tortoise tucked himself into his shell, the electricity hitting the hard material but not Tirtouga's body. To make matters worse, a strange light came from the shell briefly, signalling that the reptile had not only used a natural defensive manoeuvre but also a move called Withdraw, a technique that made physical attacks even more ineffective against him than before.

Dana had to think carefully about this, but that would have to wait as Tirtouga poked his head out of his shell, sending Water Gun at Electra only for the flying squirrel to miss and send in another Thunder Shock, Tirtouga once again avoiding damage. This wasn't good at all. Electra may have had the type advantage, but Pamela and her Tirtouga were smart enough to avoid that.

After a few seconds, Dana realized she had no other choice as she shouted, "ALRIGHT, ELECTRA, AIM A GOOD QUICK ATTACK TOWARD THE HOLE AT THE FRONT OF TIRTOUGA'S SHELL!"

Electra grinned and nodded before soaring toward the tortoise, moving into the shell as the sound of the attack hitting could be heard. Unfortunately, this was followed by a chomping sound as Tirtouga popped his feet and head out of his shell, revealing that he had taken in little to no damage from the Quick Attack and had Electra's head in his jaws, clearly having used his Bite Attack.

Nathan and Jason cringed as Dana was at a loss for words, the tortoise moving toward the small pool in the middle of the arena. Was he planning to drag Electra down under the water and drown her?

The grin on Pamela's face gave the girl that impression as she snapped out of her state of shock before shouting, "ELECTRA, YOU'RE RIGHT UP TO THE ENEMY'S FACE NOW! HIT HIM WITH A THUNDERSHOCK!" the Emolga smiling within the tortoise's maw and releasing an electric current from her cheeks, sending the electricity all throughout Tirtouga's body, freeing herself and taking to the skies once more. Of course, being close to the move, Electra took in a bit of damage as well, but being an electric type, this meant very little to her.

The Tirtouga was now covered in burns, coughing up smoke as Pamela clapped and exclaimed, "WHOO! That was so cool!" Jason grinning and saying, "That turned out much better than I expected," Nathan smiling lightly before adding, "I knew she'd catch onto that."

However, Tirtouga shook off the pain as Pamela said, "Alright, Tirtouga, dive into the water!" the tortoise doing so as Electra sent an electric blast towards him only to end up too late as the electricity only managed to cover the top of the water, the tortoise now completely safe.

Dana was a bit nervous now. She didn't think the water would provide nearly as much protection. To make matters worse, Electra, being part flying type, wasn't exactly a master swimmer. As such, the two were at a major disadvantage now.

After a few seconds, Tirtouga popped his head up out of the pool, sending a Water Gun hard into the shocked Electra's tummy, the flying squirrel flying upward, her back hitting the ceiling as the tortoise went back down, Pamela saying, "Excellent work!"

Dana bit her lip, Nathan already seeing a strategy she could use and thinking, 'Come on, Dana, don't tell me you can't see it too.'

After a few more seconds, Dana and Electra trying especially hard to figure out a strategy, Tirtouga once again poked his head up from under the water, hitting the Emolga with another Water Gun, Dana's eyes wide with fear. What could they do?

Jason gritted his teeth and shouted, "DANA, JUST..." before Pamela cut in saying, "A special rule for this particular region is that watchers are not allowed to give advice to the trainers battling," Nathan letting out a sigh as Jason folded his arms, grumbling, "That's a stupid rule."

However, now Dana really wanted to know what the boy was going to say. What could she do? What were the words that were going to follow just?

This train of thought came to an end as Tirtouga once again popped his head up out of the water, Electra taking in another Water Gun. Sure, this wasn't having too much of an effect on her, but unless she could find a way to fight back, it was hopeless.

Three more times, Tirtouga came up and launched a water gun at the flying squirrel. Electra did manage to at least dodge the last one, but the first two certainly hit her hard as she now breathing heavily, clearly coming close to passing out.

However, after a while, Dana finally thought up a strategy. She looked back to when Electra first used her Thunder Shock on the water and how it covered the entire surface. She also took note of the fact that Tirtouga would always poke his head up before using Water Gun. Her eyes then sparkled, a smile forming on her face as she noticed bubbles starting to rise from the water, signalling that Tirtouga would rise up again.

With that, Dana shouted, "Alright, Electra, aim your Thunder Shock at the water!" the Emolga rather confused by this but refusing to question her master's decision as she sent a jolt of electricity into the water, Tirtouga rising up only to take in the current going through the water, the tortoise now paralysed.

This was it. This was Dana's chance to end the battle. With that, she had Electra use Thunder Shock one last time, this time hitting the tortoise hard in the face, electricity coursing through his veins as he cried out in agony, his eyes wide open with shock and his mouth twitching all the while.

With that, Tirtouga closed his eyes and floated stayed still and silent on the water's surface, staying like that for ten seconds before coughing up smoke, his tongue coming out and falling to the side of his head. Pamela let out a sigh, smiling and returning the tortoise as Electra perched herself atop Dana's shoulder, the girl stroking the rodent with her finger.

Nathan folded his arms and smiled lightly. He was proud of Dana, so much that he wasn't going to bother mentioning that he already knew that would work. He was just glad that Dana had won.

With that, Pamela walked over to Dana and shook her hand saying, "That was a wonderful battle! We should totally battle again some day!" Dana laughing before saying, "Well, thanks. I did my best," her cheeks turning pink while Pamela pulled out a badge shaped like a cloud fountain saying, "You've just won yourself the fountain badge. Wear it with pride."

"Thanks, I will," Dana said with a grin as she put the badge on, grinning as Jason sighing with relief saying, "Wow, that was intense," Nathan saying, "I knew you'd pull through the minute you sent in Electra. Good job."

Dana chuckled before saying, "It feels really good having my first badge," then asked, "Say, how many did I need in total again?" Jason replying, "Eight," Dana letting out a sigh and saying, "Geez, just one was kind of exhausting," Nathan patting the girl on the shoulder and replying, "It's okay. I'm sure you'll pull through."

It was funny. Up to this point, Nathan hadn't cared about what most others went through, but Dana and Jason were special to him. They were his only true human friends in the world. That was more than enough for him.

With that, Dana remembered she had to have her Pokemon recovered as she and the others headed toward the Center, Dana's eyes going wide as she froze, Jason looking with concern as Nathan rolled his eyes and said, "Come on, it'll be fine," opening the door as Dana approached the desk, Nurse Stress flipping out as expected and Dana trying her best not to let it get to her. After all, she'd just won her first gym battle. That was certainly something to be happy about.

While waiting for Dana's Pokemon to recover, they realized it was time for dinner as Nathan picked up some food from a machine that served dehydrated food to trainers, of course hydrating it through a complex process before serving it. The convenient thing about this wonderful addition was that no one had to pay for the meals, which was certainly good for trainers as they didn't necessarily make money off of their profession. But of course, the price for this was the fact that the person needed to at least own a Pokemon to be allowed this kind of treatment.

Just as Nathan walked over to the others with a big tray of food, Dana's Pokemon had recovered, therefore they were now able to join them. The second Electra came out of her ball, she shovelled down her food more quickly than Sammy and started going for Pyro's food, the pig staring with terror and speeding up his eating while Dana held the rodent back, Electra trying to struggle free. So the rodent had some behavioural problems. She was still a valued member of Dana's team.

Hanzo ate about half of his food before deciding he didn't want anymore like the stick in the mud he seemed to be. As such, the Venipede pushed the rest of his food over to Electra, sighing at how desperate the flying mouse-like creature seemed as Electra's eyes sparkled, the Emolga digging in.

"You shouldn't be so picky about what you eat," Nathan said, "You may end up starving to death," as the Venipede held up one of its feet in a rather odd manner before going to sleep, Nathan blinking and asking, "Did he just give me the finger?" Jason replying, "Looks like he was trying to."

Nathan was now rather concerned about his relationship with the Venipede. Oh, sure, it wasn't as if Hanzo seemed to truly hate Nathan or anything, but he still didn't seem like a loyal ally. After all, during his fight with Axew, he had completely ignored all of Nathan's advice, even one particular command that could have stopped him from losing.

Nevertheless, the boy figured it could have been worse and finished his dinner. At least the Venipede was courteous enough to offer his leftovers to someone.

Soon enough, the rest of the day passed by as did the night as soon morning came and the group was off. It was at this exact moment that Jack arrived in town saying, "Geez, finally! That should not have taken so long!"

As it just so happens, the boy had taken the long way to Violet Town. Either way, he assumed that was the only route here and figured Nathan and his friends must have still been around. Little did he know he'd missed them completely.

But before he could truly get annoyed by the fact that they were nowhere to be seen, he then noticed a gym and froze as he looked at it. Dare he take a detour from his mission and go for the Ultimate Pokemon Challenge?

Well, he certainly thought himself good enough for it, so he decided to give it a go as he entered the gym, a grin of confidence on his face. It wasn't long before he ended up victorious, but he had unfortunately ended up relying on Oshawott who had insisted on replacing Pawniard instead of letting Jack send Axew in. Ultimately, Oshawott struggled a bit to defeat Tirtouga but ended up successful after discovering Focus Energy, increasing his chances of a more powerful blow and using Tackle on the tortoise's skull when he dropped his guard.

Pamela smiled and said, "Wow, that's the fastest anyone's ever beaten me before," handing the boy the fountain badge as Jack said, "Yeah, I'm awesome," Oshawott clinging to his leg as he sighed, "Yeah, yeah, you didn't suck eggs in this battle, okay?"

Either way, Jack was certainly getting tougher. After winning the gym badge so easily, he felt a lot more confident that when he and Nathan next met, Nathan would go down for sure.


	8. Chapter 8

Pokemon Legacy

Note: 'The Muscleman' is a reference to Kinnikuman/Ultimate Muscle.

We now take you back to the Team Shadow headquarters where Sabrina was growing bored of sitting at her desk. As such, she got up and decided to inspect the building. Of course, this was merely an excuse for her to go for a walk.

As such, she wandered the halls and pretended to care about what the agents were doing, some running around with plutonium rods and having sword fights with them, not noticing her presence. Luckily for them, Sabrina was ignoring all of this.

After a while, one of the members, a professor to be exact, noticed the woman and ran up to her saying, "Sabrina, ma'am, we have stumbled upon a breakthrough with our most recent specimen," Sabrina nodding and asking, "You mean that unidentifiable one, right?" the man nodding and pushing his glasses upright.

Now Sabrina actually cared about what was going on. After all, if anything could potentially make her plans succeed faster, she had to know about it, even if it was a small improvement.

With that, the professor led Sabrina into a room where a small creature was being kept inside a clear plastic casing. It was easier to keep it contained when it couldn't easily break its containment unit, or at least that was the logic Sabrina used when choosing plastic over glass. Had it been up to the professor, he would have gone with glass for sure.

But what was the creature in the containment unit? It was very small and skinny. It also had white fur all over most of its body, save for the hands, feet and big, sharp ears that were orange. The reason Sabrina kept this one locked up was because there was no information on this creature anywhere, not even the most up-to-date computers.

"Turns out this creature is one that the most highly-obsessive Pokemon enthusiasts have only caught small glimpses of but never took an official photo," the professor explained, "This creature goes under the name Victini."

Sabrina smiled and said, "That's a cute name," the professor nodding before adding, "Yes, it certainly is, but there's a lot more to it. For some strange reason, this thing fits under the category of the legendary dragons. In other words, it's the only one of its kind."

"Well, it's lucky for us we captured it," Sabrina said, the professor nodding and saying, "Yeah, really lucky. Turns out this Pokemon is one of the most powerful in existence, coming pretty close to that of Zekrom and Reshiram."

"Anything else?" Sabrina asked as the professor shook his head and replied, "I'm afraid that's all we have. I was thinking of maybe using Victini to lure the dragons out, but whether or not it's associated with them is a mystery."

"Well, keep up the good work," Sabrina replied as she headed out of the room, a satisfied grin on her face.

Meanwhile, Nathan and the others had been walking for quite some time when Dana noticed a small lake nearby, Jason noticing it too as grinned before suggesting, "Hey, we should go for a swim," the others staring at him as Nathan shrugged his shoulders, Dana smiling and saying, "Well, it would be a nice break from our usual stuff."

"Wait," Nathan replied, "do any of you actually have swim trunks?" Dana pulling some out of a bad she'd bought at Violet Town and said, "I bought myself a bathing suit before we left," Jason pulling off his pants to reveal swim trunks underneath saying, "I always come prepared!"

With that, the two then looked at Nathan, the boy looking mellow, but unable to hide his true emotions at this time as a pair of light blush marks appeared on his face, the boy sighing and rolling up his pants while saying, "These will have to do, I guess," Jason and Dana snickering a bit as Nathan remarked, "Hey, I didn't know we'd be stopping for a swim."

Ultimately, Jason decided not to wet his, and as such he stayed out of the lake and watched the other two swim around, Dana and Jason splashing each other and laughing all the while. Nathan didn't show it, but he really wished he could join them. This looked like fun.

As if that wasn't enough, the Pokemon were out as well. Mighty was performing an over-elaborate and graceful swim routine while Sammy was doing laps and Zelda was padding on her back with her feet. Luckily, Nathan wasn't alone as Hanzo, Pyro and Electra were out of the water with him, however, Pyro and Electra had good reasons as they couldn't enter the water.

Of course, Pyro didn't mind as he thought of this as a useless past time and figured he was too good for swimming. Hanzo really didn't care at all and would much rather nap. Meanwhile, Electra wanted desperately to go in but couldn't because it would likely effect her flying abilities for a while.

Nathan simply sighed and patted Electra on the head saying, "I think you're being a little paranoid. It's not like those skin flaps of yours are actual wings. I'm sure you'll still be able to fly even if you touched the water," the Emolga's eyes sparkling as she headed toward the water only for Dana to notice and shout, "NOT SO FAST, YOUNG LADY! YOU'RE NOT COMING IN HERE!" Electra sighing and making her way back, Nathan sighing, "You and I may be able to see it, but she sure can't."

Mighty continued his graceful swim when he soon noticed another monkey, this one with blue fur and a broccoli-like shape for the fur atop its head, the two monkeys grinning at one-another. Jason stopped what he was doing and stared as the two monkeys started to perform a synchronized dance routine as if by instinct, the two monkeys diving underwater as the blue monkey soon rose up holding Mighty above its head with pride.

Dana clapped and said, "That is so cute," Jason saying, "It's a Panpour..."

This was Jason's big chance. He had always wanted to own all three of the monkey Pokemon, Pansage, Panpour and Pansear, but he never believed he'd have a chance of doing so. But now he felt like he could do it. And with the type advantage, this could very well be Mighty's first victory.

However, he could clearly see the two monkeys were getting along with each other and figured maybe he could do this without having to fight. Maybe the Panpour would come join his team voluntarily. It was worth a shot.

With that, Jason pulled out a Pokeball and asked, "Hey, Panpour, do you wanna join me and Mighty in our adventures?" Mighty grinning and making a series of ooks and eeks at the water monkey, Panpour placing its fingers against its chin, Dana and Nathan looking with interest, rather surprised that Jason had outright asked that.

After a few seconds, the Panpour swam up to the edge of the lake, climbing out and signalling Mighty to follow, the green-furred monkey and Jason climbing out as Dana figured this looked serious and came out herself. With that, Panpour got into a battle position, spreading its legs apart and gesturing the Pansage to come at it, Jason groaning as he realized what this meant. Panpour wanted Jason to prove his worth as a trainer. This wouldn't have been such a bad thing had Jason won a battle in his life, but he hadn't. Still, had to remember that Mighty had a type advantage, so that could work for him.

With that, he put on a serious expression and spat, "Alright, Mighty, start things off with Vine Whip!" Mighty pulling two vines out of the tuft of fur atop his head and swinging them at Panpour.

This, however, proved ineffective as the water monkey easily caught them with its hands, tugging hard on them and pulling Mighty inward and over its head, leaning back as the Pansage was sent skull-first into the ground. Jason gritted his teeth, freaking out as Mighty quickly leaped to his feet, growling while Nathan sighed. Jason should have waited for an opening before using that.

Jason then regained a level head and said, "Alright, let's try doing something else before Vine Whip. Maybe a Scratch Attack," Mighty nodding and running toward Panpour, the water monkey's eyes glowing yellow as an aura surrounded the Pansage, soon sending its own claws forward, both hitting each other in the cheeks and sending each other back. However, prior to using its own Scratch, Panpour had also used Leer. As such, Mighty had taken in more damage and therefore had a harder time recovering.

"Oh, come on, surely you're better than this, Jason," Dana groaned as Nathan sighed, "He has the advantage, but he's already made a couple of mistakes. Hopefully he'll learn from them in time."

While this conversation took place, Sammy, Electra and Zelda formed a small Pokemon pyramid and let out cries of encouragement, hoping this would life Mighty's spirits. Luckily, this did seem to work as Mighty grinned, giving the three thumbs up and ignored the pain on his cheek.

However, this was far from over as Panpour pounced on Mighty, delivering a series of rapid paced scratches to his face. Jason started to freak out as he spat, "MIGHTY, KICK OUT OF IT!"

Mighty did just that as he lifted up his legs, kicking Panpour in the pelvis and sending the monkey a bit into the air, Jason seeing an opportunity and shouting, "NOW TIE IT UP WITH VINE WHIP AND SLAM IT INTO THE GROUND!" Mighty pulling out his vines and leaping up, tying them all around Panpour's body and aiming its head toward the ground, Panpour realizing it was hopeless to try and escape, Mighty spinning around before slamming the water monkey's neck into the ground, letting go and grinning with pride.

Dana, Nathan and the other Pokemon including Pyro and Hanzo stared with shock, all having to admit that this was very impressive. That wasn't even an actual Pokemon attack.

"How did Mighty do that?" Dana asked as Jason grinned and replied, "Oh, that was nothing. It's just a special technique I trained him to perform. It's heavily inspired by a series of comic books I used to read a lot. I believe it was called The Muscleman."

"Well, whatever that was, I have to admit, that was pretty cool," Nathan said with a light smile, "With a technique like that, I'm amazed you never won with Mighty before," Jason sighing, "Well, he's never gotten a chance to use it on an opponent before."

However, the conversation soon came to a close when Panpour rose to its feet, shaking the pain off of its head and grinning with admiration, but also letting it be known that this battle wasn't over yet, the monkey charging toward Mighty once more. However, after successfully using that last move, Jason felt a burst of confidence as he shouted a command at Mighty.

The Pansage ducked under Panpour's incoming Scratch Attack, reaching his arms around it before licking its face. Panpour not only took in a bit of damage from this but also started to twitch as it squirmed out of the hold, leaping back and breathing heavily. However, just as the monkey was about to fight back, it found itself unable to move. See, the attack Mighty had just used was Lick, an attack that could potentially paralyze an opponent.

Ceasing the opportunity, Jason had Mighty once again use Vine Whip, this time having the vines just hit Panpour, Mighty slapping it around and spinning it around and around in a circle, the water monkey's eyes swirling. But as Mighty went in to deliver a Scratch Attack and potentially finish the battle, Panpour snapped out of its daze and grabbed onto Mighty's wrist, twisting it a bit as the leaf monkey winced in agony, Jason's eyes going wide as Panpour unleashed a fierce water gun into Mighty's face.

'No,' Jason thought, his jaw dropped, 'I was actually close to winning,' Nathan and Dana feeling a tad disappointed too.

However, as luck would have it, Mighty easily recovered from the attack, being a grass type and all, and proceeded to lick Panpour's chin extra hard, so hard that it was practically like a punch to the water monkey's face. And that was that. Panpour was down for the count as Jason pulled out a Pokeball and threw it forward, consuming the water monkey as its capture became official.

Nathan folded his arms and smiled lightly, letting out a sigh of relief as Dana smiled wide, Jason staring at the ball with shock, slowly walking over to it and picking it up. His eyes were wide open, the boy breathing heavily before holding it high into the air with pride, the sun gazing down on him and causing the Pokeball to shine briefly.

"I did it..." Jason said with pride, "I caught my first Pokemon and won my first battle all the same time! This calls for a song!" Nathan slapping his forehead and groaning, "Here it comes."

With that, Mighty stood on its hands, clapping his feet together as Jason started to perform many different poses, Mighty soon standing upright as the two held hands and began to line lift their legs up, Nathan and Dana staring all the while as Jason belted, "I spent a lot of my days as a loser, never feeling like I could be a chooser! Every time I would face someone, I'd fall. It seemed like my life was going nowhere all in all."

The two then proceeded to line-dance with each other as Jason continued, "But now a miracle has finally come through. I've caught my first Pokemon and won a battle too!"

Nathan and Dana decided to just accept this as they sat down, Sammy pulling a bag of popcorn out of nowhere and munching on it as Mighty stood atop Jason's shoulders, the two holding their arms out and spinning while Jason sang, "Now that I've won, I'm feeling really, really strong! I can't believe I can possible do wrong! There's no doubt that I'm going places now! I don't know how I'll get there, but I will somehow!"

At that moment, he sent Panpour into the area, the water monkey joining into the dance while it and Mighty held hands, spinning before stopping and holding their hands up, Mighty flipping his body over and performing a hand-stand on Panpour's palms. It was as if the two had known each other their whole lives, and this became even more likely as Panpour propelled Mighty into the air, the monkey performing a series of flip before descending toward the monkey, Panpour leaping up toward him, the two locking arms and spinning like a wheel before landing on the ground, Mighty now on the bottom as the two smiled brightly.

Jason then held the two and swung them around while singing, "I was going nowhere in my true career before. I was about to give up trying anymore. But now a miracle has happened, this is true. I've caught my Pokemon and won a battle too!"

Then with that, the trio performed one final pose, Mighty and Panpour standing on Jason's shoulders, one hand each and connected their feet together to form a triangle. Nathan and Dana simply clapped, not questioning any of this, especially the fact that Mighty and Panpour were so energetic despite taking in heavy damage during their battle.

With that, Jason looked over Panpour and said, "Alright, Panpour, now for a nickname..." then thought about this and said, "I'm gonna go with Carmen."

"Carmen?" Nathan asked as Jason nodded, remarking, "You got a problem with that?" as Nathan shook his head, replying, "No, it's a nice name, but how do you know that Panpour's a girl?"

"I'm an expert on the three monkey Pokemon of this region," Jason replied, "I know a female Panpour when I see one."

Nathan shrugged and figured it made enough sense not to be questioned. Either way, he and Dana were proud of Jason for his victory and congratulated him before the group headed back on the road again, headed toward the next town where Dana would face the second gym leader.

All the while, Jack was heading through this area as well, plowing through wild Pokemon in the hopes of capturing at least one. Unfortunately, none of these Pokemon interested him as he didn't deem any cool enough. However, after a few seconds, he noticed something strange, something he'd never even heard of before.

It was a blue horse-like creature with long yellow eyebrows shaped like lightning bolts drinking water from a small pond. This looked like the perfect ally for him as he held up Axew's Pokeball saying, "Hey, Axew, it's time for some action," the boy having no clue what he was in for. Had he known the Pokemon he was looking at, he wouldn't have had nearly as much confidence.

Note: Jason's victory song is a tribute to the Newgrounds flash "Seedot was Caught" and the song is meant to go with the melody of the song used in that. Speaking of which, the uploader of the flash still refuses to reveal what the song used in it is called, so if anyone knows what it is, please tell me.


	9. Chapter 9

Pokemon Legacy

While walking along, Nathan and the others soon found themselves in yet another forest, Dana sighing, "Great, just when I thought the path was going to be a straight-up field and lake, we end up in another forest," Jason blinking in confusion as Nathan replied, "She doesn't like forests that much," Jason nodding.

With that, the group carried on as their stomachs started to growl, Jason asking, "You still got those ingredients we bought back in Violet Town?" Dana and Nathan nodding as Jason grinned saying, "Alright, time to go to work."

Meanwhile, Jack stood still, his eyes wide with shock as Pawniard, Axew and Oshawott, all the at the same time, were taken down by an attack called Metal Burst, their biggest mistake being standing together when their opponent used it. For this move, the horse-like creature had summoned a series of metallic crystals, said crystals exploding in front of Jack's Pokemon, causing them to pass out from all the damage they'd taken in earlier.

Jack couldn't believe his eyes. He'd started out just using Axew but when he realized his opponent was too tough decided to cheat by using all three of his Pokemon. Despite all of that, not one had landed a blow on this mystery Pokemon and ended up knocked out in a short amount of time. What was this thing?

Well, whatever it was, it fled from the area after the battle was done, Jack falling on his knees, his eyes wide open and his jaw dropped. Now he wanted that creature more than ever but at the same time, he knew he couldn't possibly catch something so powerful. All he could do now was return his Pokemon to their balls and be on his way toward the next town to have them all healed.

Meanwhile, Nathan and the others had just finished one of the best meals they'd had in ages as Dana said, "Jason, you really should have taken up cooking instead of training. You're amazing," Jason blushing and replying, "Oh, please, I'm not that great," Nathan rolling his eyes and remarking, "You weren't that modest when you first showed us your skills."

Soon enough, dinner was served and everyone enjoyed a nice meal, well, all except for Hanzo who only ate half and offered the rest to Sammy who was more than happy to gulp it down. At this point, Nathan was starting to wonder if he'd ever need Sammy's vile of worms again. After all, Jason's food was simply incredible.

After getting up, their stomachs now full, Nathan was just about to return his Pokemon when he noticed a Pokemon walking around and carrying another on its back. The slightly bigger Pokemon was a yellow spider with blue eyes and blue tips on the ends of its feet. Dana pulled out her Pokedex right away to see that this was called a Joltik.

The one on its back was a small creature that kind of resembled a head with eyebrows shaped like musical notes. Along with its white face was a black coating on its backside, a blue tail like that of a tadpole and two round spherical-like parts on its cheeks. This was known as a Tympole.

As if seeing these two creatures together wasn't weird enough, it seemed as if the Tympole was knocked out, but why? Had the Joltik done this? After all, it being an electric type, it could easily pull this off. But why would a spider want a tadpole?

"The poor little Tympole," Dana gasped, "We should go help it," Nathan nodding and saying, "I don't know where it's being taken, but I have a bad feeling about that thing's fate."

Jason slapped his forehead and groaned, "Who cares! This has nothing to do with us!" the two glaring at Jason who sighed and shook his head, following close behind and deciding not to question this further.

After a while of searching, the group found themselves in an entire area infested with Joltik, one wearing a crown made from sticks tied together with weeds stood tall, glaring at the Tympole, the creature looking up and trembling with a look of horror on its face. Dana was about to gasp when Nathan clasped his hand over her mouth, Jason now a little worried himself. What were these creatures planning?

The Joltik wearing a crown then pointed at a tree, showing a picture of what looked like a prophecy of some kind, indicating that Tympoles were to be sacrificed and thrown down a pit in order to appease some god they worshipped. Nathan's eyes went wide, the boy unable to hide his concern as the Joltik revealed a pit right behind a big bush nearby, the Tympole trembling and attempting to free himself only for the Joltiks to all unleash an attack called String Shot, shooting string out of their rear ends and trapping wrapping the creature in the stuff, lifting it up and making their way toward the pit.

Jason's eyes were wide open as he squealed, "We have to save that poor guy," Dana nodding as she couldn't handle watching this any more, the girl sending in Pyro who immediately short a fierce Ember at the leader, lighting the crown atop its head on fire as it burned to a crisp, falling off.

All of the spiders stopped and stared with shock before turning toward Dana and her Tepig, both fuming as Dana spat, "ALRIGHT, YOU PUT THAT TYMPOLE DOWN RIGHT NOW!" Tympole's eyes sparkling.

Unfortunately, being rational about this was the last thing the Joltiks wanted as their leader had just lost his precious crown. That particular Joltik fumed in absolute anger, pointing as if to signal an attack as its subjects marched forward, one hitting Pyro with Thunder Wave, a wave of electricity that paralyzed an opponent.

But before they could do any more, Nathan growled and sent in all of his Pokemon shouting, "ALRIGHT, GUYS, LET'S..." Hanzo taking matters into his own hands as he rolled up into a ball, ramming hard into a group of Joltiks, knocking them to the side like bowling pins. However, they managed to recover before hotting the bug with String Shot.

Fortunately, though, this proved ineffective as Hanzo rolled his way out of the silk coating, hitting a few and knocking them unconscious, Tympole staring with admiration. But just as all seemed well and good, one of the Joltiks sent a Thunder Wave into the Venipede causing its rolling to come to a halt, Nathan sighing, "Alright, are you guys ready to cease this chance to do something?" Sammy and Zelda nodding. However, Zelda would have to be careful. After all, Joltiks were bug types, so grass moves weren't that effective against them.

With that, Sammy went in and unleashed an onslaught of Fury Swipes, delivering various slashes to a row of Joltiks' causing them to bleed a little bit. However, she soon found herself caught in a variety of String Shots, unable to move as she struggled to free herself.

However, Nathan didn't seem at all worried, and this wasn't just an act either as he said, "Come on, Sammy, you know how to get out of this," the mole grinning and proceeding to spin rapidly, her claws stretched outward as she created a tornado-like shape with her body, the string coming open as a result of her Rapid Spin.

The Joltiks stared in shock as Zelda proceeded to hit them with Leer before ramming her body hard into one, knocking it out then using her armpit vines to trap a couple of others in place. This wasn't Vine Whip but rather a normal type move called Wrap. As such, its effect wasn't decreased upon hitting the spiders, Zelda squeezing them, Tympole looking even more impressed.

The other half of the Joltiks were being distracted by Electra, who kept flying to avoid being hit by them while swooping in for a quick attack every few seconds. However, one of the Joltiks started tracking the flying rodent's path and sent a bit of silk up at her, catching her during her flight and causing her to fall. To make matters worse, Sammy, Hanzo and Zelda had also been caught by the Joltiks who were still standing, Sammy's escape being prevented by a Thunder Wave, the leader implying a smile as Tympole trembled with fear.

But as luck would have it, that fear soon faded when everyone noticed Pyro finally snap out of his paralysis, the pig snorting with fury as he let out a loud battle squeal, shooting flames from his nostrils as the fire surrounded his body. Dana's eyes sparkled when she saw this as Pyro had just learned a new move, the pig charging toward the Joltiks at an incredible speed, at least by Tepig standards anyway.

The Joltiks all sent their string forward but failed to do a thing as the flames burned up the silk upon contact. With that, Pyro charged right through the army, knocking out a quarter of them. He then proceeded to do the same to another section, half of the spiders remaining.

But just as he was about to go in for more, he found himself unable to use his newly-acquired Flame Charge ability in time to avoid being wrapped up in silk, his whole body covered in the stuff. Dana's eyes went wide as Nathan sighed, "That shouldn't have happened. Flame Charge raises the speed of whoever uses it with each use."

Dana clasped her hand over her mouth as Jason fumed, cursing, "Dammit! If Mighty and Carmen were in good health, they could help out right now."

But soon, the leader's smile faded, the spider blinking with a look of fear on his face as the string started to turn orange. Dana looked with wonder before her eyes sparkled, a smile forming on her face. Of course Pyro wasn't going to fall victim to silk, and this was made perfectly clear when the string caught flame and burned to the ground, Pyro snorting in even more fury than before.

However, even the ever-sure-of-himself Tepig realized that with his speed drop, he wouldn't be able to stand a chance. As such, he used Ember on the other Pokemon's String shackles freeing them as well, Sammy soon recovering from her paralysis.

With that, Electra soared at the spellbound Joltiks with Quick Attack, striking five of them hard in the skulls and taking them out while Hanzo rolled through about ten, knocking them down like bowling pins while Nathan sighed with relief. Sammy also scooped up clods of dirt and hurled them at the Joltiks at a rapid pace, taking out a good number as well. Zelda also managed to knock out one of her own as Pyro used his Ember to knock the last Joltik servant out, the leader standing there in shock, trembling with fear in its eyes.

Tympole squeaked happily as Dana glared and asked, "Alright, Joltik, will you leave this poor little Tympole alone now?"

The spider sighed and nodded before looking at Dana with admiration, walking over to the girl and bowing its head in respect. The leader then kept its head lowered, Dana staring in confusion. However, Nathan and Jason knew right away what was going on as they both nodded.

"I think that Joltik wants you to own it," Nathan stated as Dana gasped before saying, "No, that's ridiculous," before the Joltik looked up with sparkling eyes, nodding as Dana stared with shock, standing silent for a few seconds before a smile crossed her face.

With that, the girl pulled out a Pokeball and sighed, "Well, you are pretty cute," before throwing the ball forward, the ball tapping against the spider's head before opening up and consuming it. Unlike all the times before, the ball didn't even rotate as the light on it faded in less than a second. Dana then proceeded to cheer with excitement, holding the ball up with pride as Jason let out a light chuckle before saying, "Well, that turned out better than expected," Nathan nodding, a light smile on his face as he folded his arms.

"Now to figure out what this little thing's gender is," Dana said as one of the Joltiks slowly pushed itself up, limping over to the girl and writing in the dirt 'Please take good care of our queen', Dana nodding, now knowing that the Joltik she had was a girl.

While the group carried on, feeling good for themselves as they had truly done a good deed, Nathan heard a sound similar to hopping behind him, the boy turning around and seeing the Tympole sitting there with a smile on its face. The others turned around as Jason asked, "What, do you wanna join Dana too?" pointing at Dana as the Tympole shook its head.

Dana felt rather offended by that, but decided to think little of it as she hardly considered the Tympole cute enough for her team, smiling sweetly and asking, "Well, what do you want, little guy?" the Tympole looking at Nathan and pointing its tail at him, Nathan staring, his eyes widening a bit.

"You want to come with me?" Nathan asked as Jason shrugged, saying, "He did seem to have a lot more admiration for you during that battle. I guess he was impressed by how mellow you looked during the whole thing," Tympole nodding and wagging its stubby tail, Nathan rather confused as it seemed odd for a Tympole to wag its tail, but he decided to consider the offer.

He looked at the tadpole-like creature and thought about this. He had to consider that he only had four Pokeballs left and that he wasn't sure he could afford a whole lot of replacements for them. However, seeing the innocent, child-like expression on Tympole's face led Nathan to smile lightly before pulling out an empty ball, Tympole's eyes sparkling.

With that, Nathan hurled the ball forward and consumed the creature, getting the same results as Dana. With that, he held it up and smiled, Dana still feeling a tad offended the creature had picked him over her, but decided to think nothing of it.

After a while, it was too late for the group to carry on toward the next town as they decided to set up camp for the night. Of course, they still didn't have sleeping bags or anything like that, so they decided to make themselves blankets using leaves and sticks.

Just as they were about to do so, however, Joltik forced her way out of Dana's ball, the girl smiling and asking, "Aw, what are you doing out, Charlotte?" the spider glaring at Dana asked, "Oh, do you not like that name?" the spider nodding as Nathan added, "I don't care for it either. It sounds like you stole it from something. I just can't put my finger on it."

With that, Dana sighed and tried to come up with another name, sighing, "Geez, what would rather be called, Queen?" the Joltik's eyes sparkling as Jason chuckled a bit, Dana saying, "Alright, then, Queen it is," rolling her eyes and asking, "Well, what are you doing out?"

With that, the Joltik, now named Queen, used her String Shot to bind the leaves and sticks together as Jason whistled saying, "Seems she wanted to help us. She's a very generous ruler, I'll give her that?" Dana sitting down and petting the spider saying, "Good girl," before Queen went and made a pillow out of some more leaves, placing a firm grip on Dana's head and letting it down atop said pillow, putting the blanket on top of her and bowing.

Jason laughed in response to this as Nathan snickered a bit before saying, "I think she's decided to demote herself to servant status," Dana's eyes going wide as Queen looked at the girl as if to ask 'Anything else?'

Dana gasped and said, "Oh, no, no, please, I'm not queen material," the Joltik clearly not listening to this as she looked at the girl, Dana sighing, "Just go to bed," pointing at the spider's Pokeball, her cheeks turning pink as the spider pressed the button on her ball, allowing herself to be consumed by it.

Dana rolled her eyes, chuckling a bit herself before heading off to sleep. She had to admit, though, the spider had done a very good job making the blanket and pillow comfortable. Perhaps she could get used to it, but at the same time, she didn't want to make her new battle partner a servant.

Meanwhile, Jack had just entered the forest, his face still in shock as he muttered curses under his breath. He still couldn't believe how easily he'd lost to that mystery Pokemon. This was sure to annoy him until his Pokemon were at least healed.

He then noticed it was nightfall and sighed, about ready to sleep against a tree or something when he noticed something odd. It was a fox-like creature with mostly grey fur on its body. The only spots that didn't have grey fur were the tips of its paws, its eyelids, eyebrows and the tuft of fur atop its head. These had red fur instead.

However, it wasn't the features Jack was interested in but rather the fact that he was actually seeing a Zorua of all things. This creature was supposed to be one of the rarest in existence with very few of its kind left in the world. Also, why was it presenting itself in its regular form before the boy? Zoruas were known to change their shapes in order to ward off predators, and he figured a trainer would be a something they'd try to avoid.

However, he was even more shocked when the fox walked over to him, licking his face and nuzzling up against him, Jack pushing the fox away and asking, "Hey, what are you doing?" the fox simply approaching him again, resting under his arm and nuzzling up against him more. It then noticed one of Jack's empty Pokeballs and stepped back, sitting down and closing its eyes.

Jack stared with shock, not believing what he was seeing. Why would a Zorua of all creatures want him to catch it? They weren't exactly known for that kind of thinking. Better yet, why question it? Jack soon realized this as he grinned. This was the best luck he'd had so far. A Zorua would make an excellent addition to his team. As such, he pulled out a Pokeball and had it consume the fox, still confused but happy at the same time.


	10. Chapter 10

Pokemon Legacy

The following day, Nathan and his friends arrived in a town smaller than Violet Town called Noahberg. This town was next to the ocean, and as such, there was a market place dedicated to selling various different types of fish and other seafood. There was also naturally a pier next to the ocean with a building for boats to dock in.

But that didn't matter as our heroes were here for Dana's next gym battle, not sight-seeing. However, when Jason spotted the aforementioned marketplace, his eyes went wide, his mouth starting to drool as he said, "You guys go ahead. I need to, uh... do something... yeah..."

Dana pulled on the boy's collar and sighed, "First we'll go to the Center and have our Pokemon healed. Then you can shop to your heart's content," Jason blinking and saying, "Oh yeah," pulling out of Pokeballs and saying, "Sorry, guys, I almost forgot about you."

With that, the group entered as Dana stared with shock at this center's nurse. This particular nurse had the short sleeves of her nurse outfit ripped off, was wearing a pair of grey genes, had other parts of her outfit ripped, black eyeliner and spiked blue hair. She was also chewing bubble gum at the time as she held her hands against her hips, blowing a bubble and popping it before spitting the gum into a trash bin next to her.

"Oh, hey there," she said, "Welcome to the Noahberg Center and stuff. I'm Nurse Punk. What have you got for me?"

Jason and Dana were in shock, but Nathan just felt relieved that this nurse wasn't a cold bitch to them. He also liked how she didn't conform to the usual dress code the last two nurses had gone for.

After a few seconds of staring, Dana shook her head and said, "We need our Pokemon healed," as Punk nodded and said, "Alright, give em here and I'll take em to the back to have em, like, healed and stuff," Dana and Jason nervously placing their balls on the table, Nathan rolling his eyes and handing his over without any hesitation.

As Punk went into the back, Nathan stared at the others, raised an eyebrow and said, "You guys look like you've just seen a ghost," Dana folding her arms and replying, "I just thought all nurses wore the proper dress code," Nathan saying, "That's a little judgemental," Jason shrugging and saying, "Whatever, at least we got descent service this time."

As soon as the Pokemon were healed, the group was off to the gym as Jason headed toward the marketplace to look at the seafood, summoning Mighty and Carmen to help him choose the right ones to use as ingredients. Of course, they didn't provide a whole lot of help as they figured every choice was a good one.

Nathan and Dana walked up to the local gym as Dana reached to open the door, noticing it wasn't opening as she blinked, her eyes going wide. Nathan noticed a slip of paper on the door and tapped Dana on the shoulder, pointing up at the note as she looked at it.

"I'm sorry, but the owner of this gym is currently unavailable," Dana read aloud, "We're not sure when he'll return, but we advise you wait until he's back."

Dana had a look of disappointment as Nathan shrugged and said, "It's okay, Dana. I'm sure he'll be back later today. You can use this time to train your Pokemon."

At that moment, a middle-aged man walked by and looked at the two asking, "Are you here for one of those gym battle things?" the two turning around and nodding as Dana asked, "Are you the gym leader?" the bystander shaking his head and replying, "Oh no, but I do know he left somewhere a couple of days ago. He still hasn't come back yet."

Silence filled the area for a few seconds before Nathan asked, "Do you know where he went?" the stranger shrugging and shaking his head saying, "I just saw him leaving the gym and exiting Noahberg. I have no idea where he went. I'm not even big on Pokemon, so I couldn't care less."

With that, Dana let out a sigh and looked down with disappointment, Nathan patting her on the shoulder. At this exact moment, Jason showed up with a bag full of seafood but was surprised to see his friends standing outside of the gym. But before he could ask, Nathan directed his attention toward the sign.

Looking over it, Jason blinked and said, "Well, that's a shame. I wonder where he could have gone," as at that moment, a little girl walked up to the three and said, "I know where he went."

The two turned as Dana smiled sweetly and said, "Why, hello there, little girl. Who are you?" the girl replying, "My name's Cassie! I'm the gym leader's daughter!" grinning with pride as Dana's eyes went wide, rather surprised by this. Even Nathan couldn't quite hide his shock right now as the girl continued, "Before Daddy left, he said he was going to Green City for a business trip, whatever that is."

"Oh, okay," Jason replied, nodding before adding, "Makes sense... did he say when he'd get back?"

Cassie thought about that for a while before replying, "He said he'd be gone for a month," before looking down and saying, "It's gonna be hard without him. Mommy's not as cool as Daddy," Nathan blinking before saying, "Thanks, Cassie," the girl smiling and saying, "You're welcome."

With that, the trio walked away from the area as Nathan said, "That doesn't add up at all," Dana asking, "Why? It sounds logical to me," Nathan shaking his head and saying, "No, I remember the ad for the challenge specifically saying that gym leaders are not allowed to be away from their posts for more than five days. If he was truly called away on business, his boss would make sure he didn't stay away longer than that. I get the strange feeling that Team Shadow is involved with this and is probably exploiting his skills for their own selfish benefit. Trust me, I know them, they would go that far."

Jason's eyes went wide as he said, "You might be right," Dana replying, "I'm not sure," as Jason sighed, "Dana, do you really wanna stay here and wait for a whole month?" Dana shaking her head and saying, "Oh, god no. You're right. Besides, Green City is the next area. That won't take too long."

With that, the group was off again, this time headed toward Green City. It was at this exact moment that Jack finally arrived in Noahberg and grinned while looking around in search of the others, Oshawott clinging to his arm as he scowled and tried to shake the otter off but to no avail, the boy sighing.

"Alright, Nathan, there's a gym here," he muttered, "You must have been occupied by that," as he walked over to said gym and saw the note, his eyes going wide as he cursed to the heavens.

We now take you to Green city, a very big place with all kinds of life. There were crowd of people flooding the streets, going about daily activities, chatting, all sorts of things. The buildings were also a lot bigger than the ones in the towns and the city itself was very vast and wide with a lot to explore.

But wait, surely Nathan and his friends hadn't gotten here yet. And yes, they certainly hadn't, so why are we focusing on this location? Well, as it just so happens, the gym leader was here at this moment, walking toward a building with a black S as its logo.

The gym leader himself was a mildly muscular man with short black hair and a white T-shirt along with a pair of green exercise pants. Clearly this man worked out a lot. His name was Eric.

As the man entered the building, a young man sat behind a desk with his feet on it, the man reading a magazine when Eric walked over to him, the man looking up and nodding before pointing to the door next to him. Eric entered and found himself in a long hallway with all kinds of rooms. He immediately pulled a piece of paper out of his pocket and looked at a few words written on it, nodding and putting it back in his pocket before making his way over to the last door.

Eric gave it a quick knock a woman inside said, "Come in," Eric opening the door and was rather surprised to see that this young woman had long violet hair, a tube top and a pair of shorts on, the man asking, "Hey, aren't you one of the elite four?"

The woman nodded and said, "Yeah, Rachel's the name. Glad to see you took me up on my offer, Eric," the man spellbound as he stood there staring for a few seconds, not sure how to respond to this.

After a few more seconds, he repeated, "You're a member of the elite four!" Rachel nodding and pulling out a cigarette before asking, "Yeah, what of it?" lighting the death stick and taking a quick drag of it as Eric remarked, "What are you doing associating yourself with Team Shadow!"

"What are you doing accepting an offer from Team Shadow?" Rachel remarked before blowing a smoke ring into Eric's face, the man coughing before saying, "That is a good point, I guess," as Rachel rolled her eyes and explained, "You guys have got Team Shadow all wrong. See, my new boss has big plans that'll change this world forever," then noticing Eric's look of scepticism added, "It's for the better," Eric saying, "Oh," and nodding his head in understanding.

"So, anyway," Rachel continued, "The boss's plan is one that'll truly make the world a better place. Not completely sure what it is, but our boss promises that it'll be much more effective than anything else done before," Rachel taking another drag of her cigarette, blowing up a bit of smoke before muttering, "I'm also getting paid a lot for this gig."

"I'm sorry, what was that last part?" Eric asked as Rachel shrugged and replied, "Nothing," before saying, "Look, Eric, you are a very strong man and so are your Pokemon. As such, we want you to help us move some precious cargo over to Oggenville," Eric nodding and replying, "You mean the next town over," Rachel smiling and replying, "Good to know we're on the same page here."

With that, Eric walked off and let out a sigh of relief thinking, 'Well, at least I'm doing good for the world, and this job will make me more than enough money to support my family. The Missus will be so proud.'

The man then walked over to the loading bay and noticed that there was a big truck in each and every parking spot. To make this even more insane, there were more than 100 huge crates and over 200 boxes to load up. This could very well have taken all week for the other Team Shadow agents. Luckily, Eric and his Pokemon were incredibly strong, so for them, this would only take a couple of days at the most.

As he held one up, he asked, "What's in these, exactly?" the Team Shadow agents shrugging as one said, "I have absolutely no idea," Eric setting the crate down in one truck before saying, "This'll take a good set of hands," throwing three Pokeballs forward, three strange-looking canines coming out.

One was a short creature with grey skin and pink veins coming from its body. It had a small purple nose and atop its head, a bulbous protrusion was extended outward. The same could be said for the back of its neck. This creature was known as Timburr.

Next to this one was another grey creature of the same variety only this one had a red nose and violet rings surrounding its shoulders, big forearms attached to them. The protrusions on this one's head weren't sticking out but rather they were upright, kind of like curly hair in a way. The creature also had a surprisingly thin mid-section followed by a large pair of thighs and legs but small, stubby feet. This was Gurdurr, the second form of Timburr.

The third being was a much older-looking tan creature with a small protrusion of skin coming up from the back of its head, much like a traditional Chinese ponytail. This one was almost twice the size of the other two and didn't have quite as many veins coming from its skin. It also had a bit of grey skin on its chin that more or less resembled a goatee and two purple rings surrounding its shoulders along with the biggest forearms of the trio. This was Conkeldurr, the third form of Timburr.

Seeing his partners out and about, Eric grinned and held his hands against his hips before saying, "Alright, men, let's get to work!" the Pokemon also picking up boxes and crates, helping Eric load them up as the Team Shadow Agents decided to sit back and let them do all the work. Clearly they were much more capable of this.

The following day by around noon, Nathan and the others arrived in Green City as they marvelled at the sights. Dana and Jason had never been to a city before, so this was all exciting for them. Nathan, having worked with Team Shadow once before, had been sent to a city or two over the past, but since it was always at night and for business-related issues, he never got to fully enjoy them.

"Oh my god, let's go to the mall!" Dana squealed as Jason replied, "I wanna check out one of these arcade things!" as Nathan sighed, "We can do all of that stuff when we've found the Green City gym leader."

Dana and Jason nodded before the size of the city hit them like a brick. This place was huge. The odds of finding this man were slim. Upon realizing this, the two groaned in agony as Nathan sighed, pinching his forehead.

Eventually, the two caved in as all three looked around the city, asking if any of them had seen the Green City gym leader, let alone knew what he looked like. As luck would have it, everyone knew of his image as gym leaders did have magazine articles dedicated to them, but none had really noticed the man's presence, well, at least this was the case in the Western sections of the city in which the group was checking.

"These people don't know anything!" Jason groaned, "Come on, we have until the end of the month! Let's just browse around and have fun," Nathan wanting to do that, sure, but also getting his priorities straight as he said, "We've only checked the Western sections. We still have the Eastern part of Green City and the middle sections."

Dana and Jason looked down, realizing that Nathan was completely focused on this and refused to argue further. After about an hour's worth of asking, they finally found a group of teens who happened to have seen the man.

"Eric went over to the loading bay," one of them said as another added, "You can find it in the lower North West portion," pointing in said direction as Nathan nodded, Dana bowing and saying, "Thank you."

"Don't mention it," one of the males said before adding, "In exchange for this, I'll just be taking your phone number," one of the girls smacking the back of his head and groaning, "Can you help one girl out without asking that?"

With that, the trio headed toward the loading bay and noticed a group of Team Shadow agents sitting around while a man not wearing a Team Shadow outfit loaded up boxes and crates along with three Pokemon. The group hid behind a bench nearby as Dana quickly pulled out her Pokedex looking over the information of the Pokemon and asked, "What does it mean when it says the other two are evolved forms?" Nathan replying, "Pokemon evolve if you train them long enough. Some can evolve through other methods, though."

He then turned his attention back to the man in white and said, "That must be Eric. He's not dressed like one of them," as Jason asked, "Does he even know he's helping a group of criminals load cargo?" Dana replying, "They must have tricked him. We'll have to get rid of them if we want to talk to him, though."

Looking at the agents, Nathan thought about a way to go about this without making too much of a stir as he sent out Sammy, Sammy noticing the agents and growling before Nathan placed his hand atop her head whispering, "Aim Mud Slap at the back of that one's head," Sammy nodding before ramming her claws into the concrete, scooping up a chunk of it and throwing it at the back of the agent's head, knocking him down as the other agents stared in shock.

They looked at where the chunk came from but saw no one there, the two trembling as they picking up their partner, running off to get him medical attention, not willing to stick around and have the same thing happen to them. Nathan pet Sammy on the head as the Drilbur giggled a bit, the boy returning the mole and nodding to the others, all three getting up and approaching Eric, the man looking and noticing the agents weren't there, blinking and figuring they'd gone to have an early lunch break. It wasn't like he had a reason to expect them to stick around since they weren't doing anything.

He was about to go back to work when Dana tapped him on the back, the man turning around and asking, "Excuse me, can I help you with something?" Dana nodding and replying, "Yeah, can you tell us why you're working for Team Shadow?"

Eric let out a sigh and replied, "Well, I guess I'm not surprised that someone's asking me about this," then nodded and added, "It is a very understandable question, but please listen to what I have to say before you comment further."

"We were gonna do that anyway," Nathan replied with a shrug, "We're not that dismissive," Jason nodding, though he honestly was planning to call bullshit on everything Eric would have said.

Eric let out a sigh and said, "Look, Team Shadow is a very misunderstood organization. What they're doing is meant to help the world, not harm it. I need to get more money for my family and if I need to help the world in order to do it, then it's definitely worth the time and effort," a proud grin on his face as Nathan slapped his forehead.

"You mean you actually fell for that?" Nathan remarked as Eric said, "Look, I know it sounds farfetched, but I could see it in Rachel's eyes when she told me this. I know it's gotta be true."

Of course, this was not true and the only reason he saw sincerity in Rachel's eyes was because she believed it too. Nonetheless, Nathan shook his head and sighed, "I once worked for Team Shadow against my will. I know they're lying to you," Eric retorting, "How do I know you're not lying to me about being an ex-Team Shadow member?"

Seeing as the kids weren't going to listen any further, Eric snapped his fingers as his Pokemon set down their cargo and said, "I'm sorry, kids, but if you're not going to accept my choice, I'm going to have to use force to get you to leave."


	11. Chapter 11

Pokemon Legacy

Things had certainly taken a turn for worse now as Nathan, Dana and Jason had to face Eric in battle now. They had hoped for a more peaceful resolution, but perhaps disposing of his allies would at least get him to listen to what they had to say.

With that, Dana gulped, "Alright, I guess it's a good thing I have three Pokemon," Nathan placing a hand on her shoulder and saying, "Dana, we're not letting you do this alone. He may be a gym leader, but he's also a Team Shadow agent right now," Dana replying, "I don't know, that might make my possible victory less legit."

Jason simply let out a sigh and pointed at Eric's Pokemon. Remembering that two of them were evolved forms of Timburr, Dana nodded, realizing they had a point. After all, none of her Pokemon had evolved.

With that, Jason sent in Carmen, the water monkey doing a quick little dance before flipping into the air and performing a handstand upon landing, a serious look on her face as she pointed her tail in her direction, clearly taunting Timburr as the canine gritted his teeth, feeling offended by this."

Dana was about to send in Pyro when Queen came out of her ball, the girl blinking and asking, "Are you sure you wanna take on that guy?" Queen giving the girl an army salute before turning toward her opponent, Dana sighing, "Well, okay, but please, from now on, don't come out unless I say so," the Joltik nodding. Gurdurr simply flexed his muscles before stamping one of his feet against the ground, showing he was dead serious.

Meanwhile, Conkeldurr had his arms folded, the being waiting patiently for his opponents to do something as Hanzo immediately came from his ball, Nathan blinking and thinking, 'First he's not following orders... now he's coming out on his own accord?' The reason Hanzo had done this was because of the fact that his opponent was evolved. He felt that this was a perfect moment to prove himself 'too good for his master'. However, seeing as all three of Eric's Pokemon didn't take much damage from bug type moves, this would be difficult. But on the other hand, Venipedes took in even less damage from fighting types moves, so this could still work.

However, Eric unfazed by this all. He felt so confident in his allies that nothing really seemed to have an emotional effect on him. Nathan wasn't sure whether this could work to everyone's advantage or not.

With that, Carmen opened up by sending a fierce water gun into Timburr's face, the canine flying into one of the crates, luckily not breaking it as Timburr rose to his feet, letting out a fierce battle cry as a strange aura surrounded him. This was a technique known as Focus Energy, a move that increased the user's chance of hitting the opponent extra hard.

He then proceeded to unleash Leer upon the monkey, Jason taking full of advantage of this and having Carmen leap over to Timburr before locking one of his arms in place with her tail and sending a barrage of Fury Swipes to his face.

Meanwhile, Queen started off the battle by unleashing a loud screech. This move caused Gurdurr to lose a bit of defense as he gritted his teeth furiously, Eric looking at the canine who simply ignored the sound and charged at the Joltik. However, Queen was prepared for this as she leaped to the side, avoiding Pound, which involved Gurdurr sending both his fists downward on the opponent. After that, Queen proceeded to hit the creature with Thunder Wave, leaping at Gurdurr and spinning around, unleashing an onslaught of chops with her feet to his face, Gurdurr coughing up a tiny bit of blood, unable to move due to paralysis.

After that, Queen stopped her Fury Cutter and proceeded to latch her String Shot onto the opponent's leg, pulling on it and attempting to trip him. Unfortunately, Gurdurr fought off his paralysis as he kicked his leg back, causing Queen to fly towards him as he proceeded to deliver a move known as Low Kick to her face.

Meanwhile, as expected, Hanzo was taking matters into his own hands as he opened up by sending a purple needle into Conkeldurr's arm. However, rather than showing a reaction, the behemoth simply stood there and took it, Nathan rather impressed by this. Sure, a bug type move like Poison Sting wouldn't have that much of an effect on the thing, but that still should have hurt to some degree.

He was also surprised to see that rather than responding to this, Conkeldurr simply stood still as if waiting for something. Either this creature was too old to be fighting or he had amazing patience. Either way, Hanzo wasn't going to stand around and wait as he proceeded to charge at Conkeldurr, a black aura covering his body. This was known as Pursuit, and Nathan was rather relieved to see Hanzo use this instead of Rollout as this would have a descent effect on the beast.

While this went on, Conkeldurr proceeded to use Leer followed by Focus Energy, Hanzo hitting the creature hard in the gut. However, Conkeldurr showed very few signs of pain as as he rose his arm in the air, forming a fist and sending it hard into Hanzo's skull, the bug already down for the count as Nathan's eyes went wide, the boy returning his Venipede. Sure, Hammer Arm was a strong attack, but he hadn't expected Hanzo to lose so quickly, especially with his high defense against fighting type moves.

Carmen continued to strike Timburr in the face before the canine threw his arm back, overpowering Carmen's weight by a long show as she fell face-first into the canine's head, taking in quite a bit of pain to the face, her nose bleeding a bit. However, she still held on with her tail as Timburr used his free arm to send a hard punch to the monkey's face.

This not only got her to let go, but also put her in a daze as hit herself in the face, passing out. Jason's jaw dropped as Timburr folded his arms, grinning with pride. But how had he used that move? Timburr must have been really experienced to know Dynamic Punch.

However, now was not the time to dwell on this as he sent in Mighty, sighing and hoping for good results. After all, Mighty was all he had left.

All the while, Queen was on the ground now, feeling weak as could be. Gurdurr walked over to her and lifted his fists before ramming them hard into the spider's head, causing the Joltik to pass out as Dana returned her, hugging the ball and saying, "You did a great job, Queen. I'm proud of you."

She then looked at the situation and figured a flier might be a better choice here, sending in Electra, the flying rodent performing a bit of aerial ballet before grinning and striking a pose. She was certainly a good choice as she not only flew but also had a strong defence against fighting type attacks.

Gurdurr didn't even wait for a second as he leaped toward the rodent, Electra simply flying hard into his skull as he landed on his feet, rubbing his temple. The Emolga then proceeded to send an electric current known as Spark into the canine, Gurdurr letting out a fierce growl and attempting to strike the flying rodent more, unable to get high enough while Dana clapped her hands with joy. She might just win this after all.

Nathan thought hard about who to replace Hanzo with, eventually deciding that maybe someone with a smaller stature could avoid Conkeldurr's moves more easily. With that, he sent in his Tympole shouting, "Go get him, Tobias!" the tadpole putting on a serious expression before noticing how big his opponent was, the Tympole trembling with fear.

Seeing this, Nathan realized the Tympole was in need of a pep talk and sighed, "Come on, Toby. He may be big, but if you got more fighting spirit, you can do anything," not completely believing that himself but figuring it was a worth a shot.

This speech did work to a degree as Toby gulped and put on a more serious look, still trembling a bit but hopping a little towards his opponent. Conkeldurr just glared as Nathan whipped out the Pokedex, noticing a move that could help and said, "Toby, try using Supersonic," the tadpole letting loose a small sound wave that was guaranteed to always confuse any opponent it hit.

However, for some strange reason, the wave didn't reach Conkeldurr's face as the Tympole started to tremble, Nathan saying, "It's okay. Try using Growl," Toby growling as a red aura surrounded the beast, Nathan smiling lightly and saying, "Good work. You just lowered his strength, so he'll deal less damage now," Conkeldurr not feeling the least bit alarmed by this as he continued to stand there as if he was waiting for the Tympole to do something impressive.

Nathan then had Toby use Bubbles, the bubbles only dealing a small bit of damage to Conkeldurr's face, the creature ignoring the damage as if it meant nothing before finally losing patience and stomping toward the tadpole, Toby freaking out and leaping back just in time to avoid Hammer Arm. As Conkeldurr went in for more, Tobias continued to dodge Pound and Chip Away before he felt a strange feeling inside, his cheeks starting to puff up as Conkeldurr stared with interest, Nathan also rather interested.

At that moment, Toby proceeded to unleash a stream of bubbles moving in a circle known as Bubble Beam, the bubbles hitting Conkeldurr hard. Unfortunately, even this wasn't enough as the Conkeldurr proceeded to ram both his fists hard into the tadpole's head, knocking him out in one blow like he had Hanzo, Nathan sighing and returning him, realizing he'd need to work on Toby's skills.

Jason had sent in Mighty as the monkey and Timburr were going at it, Mighty having slightly better luck than Carmen now that Jason knew how Timburr fought. After dodging a few strikes, Mighty hit Timburr with a Scratch attack only for Timburr to counter with a fierce chop to the monkey's face.

But just as it looked like Mighty had lost his advantage, the monkey proceeded to leap back, narrowly avoiding another Chip Away as he performed a backwards somersault, landing gracefully on his feet before digging into the tuft of fur atop his head, pulling out an array of seeds and hurling them at Timburr, the seeds sprouting vines and latching themselves to the canine. This was a move known as Leech Seed. A few seconds after it hit, Timburr cringed in pain as a green aura came from him and travelled into Mighty's body, the monkey grinning with pride. This move was known as Leech Seed and it caused the user to occasionally absorb the target's health every few seconds.

Knowing that this had to potential to caused a major disadvantage, Timburr grimaced and charged at Mighty, sliding and aiming a kick toward the monkey's legs only for the Pansage to leap over his head and pull out two vines from his head, whipping the canine in the face with one before using the other to smack the back of Timburr's head.

All the while, Gurdurr was losing patience as Eric noticed this, looking around. He knew that if Gurdurr used Rock Throw, he could have the upper hand, but he couldn't risk having his partner use any of the boxes or crates. After a while, he noticed the concrete ball Sammy had hit one of the Team Shadow agents with earlier. Having not seen that event, he had no idea where it came from, but he saw this as an opportunity as he pointed at it and shouted, "Gurdurr, use Rock Throw!"

With that, Gurdurr ran toward the concrete ball only for Electra to deliver a quick attack to the back of his head, causing him to lose his balance as he fell forward. However, he dared not let this hinder his performance as he held his arms out, placing his hands firmly against the ground before tucking his body in and rolling toward the concrete, picking it up and hurling it into the Emolga's face, Electra falling to the ground, down for the count.

Dana gasped and clasped her hands over her mouth for a few seconds before removing them and letting out a sigh, returning the flying rodent as she pulled out her last Pokeball saying, "Well, Pyro, this is it," sending the pig in as he scowled at Gurdurr, both Pokemon growling at one-another.

During this time, Nathan had sent in Zelda, the snake using Leer as her first move, Conkeldurr once again acting as if this meant nothing. Nathan remembered how Conkeldurr seemed to have a great deal of patience. As such, he took his time trying to come up with the right move. After a while, he nodded and gave a command as the Snivy wrapped her vines around Conkeldurr's skinny mid-section, holding tightly.

However, despite picking a good spot to attack, Conkeldurr didn't show any signs of pain as he grabbed onto the vines, prying them off. However, Snivy took full advantage of this, sending the vines into the sides of the creature's face, the behemoth once again acting as if this did nothing, grabbing the vines again only this time pulling them inward. As Zelda went in, Nathan started to panic, trying his best not to show it and shouted, "Zelda, aim your tail toward him!" the snake flipping her body backwards as he tail rammed into Conkeldurr's skull.

However, this dealt little damage to Conkeldurr and only ended up hurting Zelda more as he rolled around in pain, her opponent taking full advantage of this as he held up his fist, ramming it hard into the snake's pelvis and knocking her out. Nathan couldn't believe what he was seeing. This thing was unstoppable! How could Sammy stand any more of a chance than the others?

However, he simply returned Zelda and gulped before sending in Sammy, saying, "Alright, Sammy, let's make this one count!" the mole grinning while clanging her claws together, giving Conkeldurr a vicious look.

All the while, Mighty had sent his vines toward Timburr in the hopes of finishing him off only for the canine to raise his hands, grabbing the vines as Mighty's eyes went wide, the monkey struggling to pull free only for Timburr to easily overpower him, pulling him inward and lowering his skull, aiming it at the monkey's pelvis. Seeing this, Jason became desperate as he spat, "AIM YOUR HEAD TOWARD HIM TOO!" the monkey grinning and flipping his body forward just in time for both skulls to collide with one-another.

Timburr's eyes started to spin as he held onto his head, the canine trying desperately to maintain balance. Unfortunately, Timburr's head was harder than Jason had anticipated as Mighty had shown the same reaction. After a few seconds, both passed out as Jason returned Mighty saying, "Well, at least we didn't lose," Eric doing the same and saying, "Good job, Timburr," a smile on his face as he stashed the Pokeball away.

Despite having taken in previous damage, Gurdurr was overpowering Pyro by a long shot, Gurdurr pulverizing the pig with Pound followed by a stream of rocks known as Stone Edge. Dana bit her collar and said, "Come on, Pyro, you can do better than this."

Unfortunately, while the pig was certainly strong, he wasn't nearly as fast as the other two before him. As such, he was having a rather difficult time as he attempted to use Ember only for Gurdurr to hit him hard with Chip Away, the pig's snout bleeding a bit.

However, just as Gurdurr was about to rush in and finish what he'd started, the pig felt a strange impulse to stand up on his two back legs, his front legs facing downward like hands. Dana, Jason, Eric and Nathan stared at this, Conkeldurr and Sammy even taking a break from their battle to look at this miracle. How could a Tepig stand on two legs so perfectly like that?

The answer soon became clear as his body started to bulk up, Gurdurr stopping his attack and showed a twinge of fear for the first time in the entire battle. Soon, Pyro's body had become more of a large egg shape, his thighs growing as well while what looked like a chestnut brown wrestler's outfit with golden medals shaped like the letter S holding the straps in place. His tail became longer, the ball replaced by a big black tuft of fur, the pig's front legs becoming actual arms, his hooves becoming more claw-like.

Dana's eyes sparkled as she squealed, "My little Pyro just evolved!" pulling out her Pokedex and realizing that this form was known as Pignite. Now Pyro was much stronger than before, and just to prove how powerful he'd become, Pyro used Arm Thrust, sending his arms forward into the spellbound Gurdurr five times, the canine passing out as Pyro flexed his muscles, Dana running over and hugging the pig saying, "I'm so proud of you!"

For the first time ever, Pyro actually felt touched hearing this, so rather than acting smug about it as usual, he instead wrapped his arms around the girl and embraced her as well, Eric sighing, "That's really touching. If you kids weren't getting in my way, I'd let this slide," before Dana grinned saying, "Well, now that Gurdurr's taken care of, I can help Nathan!"

"No," Nathan remarked, smiling lightly and saying, "Congrats on the evolution, but I can handle this myself."

Dana folded her arms and pouted as Jason patted the girl on the shoulder, Dana sighing and returning her new pig wrestler. She hoped Nathan knew what he was doing because he'd had the least luck of all so far, and this was rather surprising.

With that, Sammy glared at Conkeldurr as Nathan said, "Give him a little warning, if you know what I mean," the mole ramming her claws into the ground and picking up two more clods of concrete, the mole hurling them into Conkeldurr's face, the behemoth noticing a bit of blood trickling from his nose. Finally, he had taken in visible pain. He knew this had gotten serious now.


	12. Chapter 12

Pokemon Legacy

Note: You might not have noticed it in the previous chapter, but I'm not having the Pokemon glow when they evolve. I don't know why, I just think it's cooler that way.

"Okay, Conkeldurr," Eric said, pointing at Sammy, "It's time to stop taking in attacks! Now it's time to be on the offensive! This one's tougher than the other three!"

With that, Conkeldurr let out a battle cry as he sent a hard punch toward the Drilbur's face, Sammy quickly holding her claws out like a shield to block the incoming punch. However, this was Focus Punch, one of the most powerful fighting type moves ever created. As such, Conkeldurr easily overpowered the mole and forced her back-first into a crater, the force of the blow doing a bit of extra damage to her front.

Nathan was actually afraid now but tried not to show it as he said, "Come on, Sammy, you can take more than that," Sammy forcing a grin before getting back up, looking at her claws and noticing that looks like dents in each one.

However, the mole chose to ignore this, figuring it was just her imagination as she got down on all fours and sprinted toward the beast, Dana rather surprised that a Drilbur could even do that, what with its arms being 5 times the width and 10 times the length of its feet. Nevertheless, this showed great effect as she ran circles around Conkeldurr, the canine unable to keep up as he attempted to strike her with Hammer Arm.

After a few seconds, Nathan smiled lightly and said, "Now," Sammy hitting the creature with Scratch before unleashing a set of Fury Swipes. Eric's eyes went wide with shock when he saw small cuts on Conkeldurr. He never would have imagined a Pokemon in its first form, huge claws or not, could possibly pull that off so early.

The truth was that this shouldn't have been so easy for Sammy. If anything, the reason she was doing so well was because of her desire to insure Nathan's victory. With things as they were, she could tell that she couldn't afford to lose.

Unfortunately, Conkeldurr didn't see it her way as he ignored the pain, letting out a loud battle cry as Sammy stared with a twinge of fear, a rare expression for her to have. A strange aura filled the behemoth before he snarled and charged at Sammy, the mole attempting to strike back only for the beast to once again overpower her, ramming his elbow into her as she rolled across the ground, soon hitting another crate.

"What the hell was that!" Jason spat, his jaw dropped as Dana blinked saying, "I have no idea."

"So your Conkeldurr knows Superpower," Nathan said, folding his arms as the others were amazed that he knew of this, Eric nodding and saying, "See, I don't normally use their most powerful attacks in gym battles because I want to be fair, but here, I pretty much need these abilities. And considering that your Pokemon was a mere Drilbur, I doubt she'll get up from that."

Nathan let out a sigh, ready to admit defeat when Sammy's body started to twitch, everyone staring with amazement, Conkeldurr feeling rather impressed by this. With that, the mole got to her feet, breathing heavily but still managing as her claws turned to Steel, Nathan's eyes sparkling briefly. Was Sammy really about to use Metal Claw?

This became clear as she charged at Conkeldurr again, the beast sending a punch forward only for the mole to leap over it, sending her steel claws into his torso, putting a fairly sized gash in it as a bit of blood sprayed out. However, Conkeldurr was not going to let this lead to his downfall as he sent a Dynamic Punch forward, Sammy realizing this punch was weaker than the first one he'd used and held her claws out to block it.

However, Sammy's eyes went wide when she noticed cracks starting to form in her claws, leaping backwards and breathing heavily. But what happened next was truly unexpected. Sammy's eyes went even wide, her mouth hanging open as she noticed her claws cracking open into small fragments falling to the ground with only a small little stub from each left attached to her arms. Nathan couldn't hide his concern anymore as he stared with absolute horror, Jason rather amazed that something like that was even possible while Dana clasped her hands over her mouth.

Seeing this, Nathan let out a sigh and said, "Sammy, you did amazing, but without your claws, you can't win," Sammy shaking her head as Nathan pulled out his ball, the mole leaping to the side and avoiding the beam of light.

"Look, it's over!" Nathan spat, a look of annoyance in his eyes, "All of your attacks involve you using your claws! Without them, you can't do a thing!" sending the beam at Sammy again as the mole dodged.

Eric let out a sigh and shook his head saying, "Your master's right, little Drilbur. You should just stop trying right now."

However, Sammy just couldn't accept this. She had come too far right now and her master was counting on her more than ever. She knew it to be true. As such, she gritted her teeth with fury before holding her arms out, her claws reforming only they were now sharper and the middle claws had two blades on top. Now only that, but her face started to become pointier as markings appeared on her cheek. Her fur also became dark brown as a large silver claw shot out over her head, similar blades to the ones on the middle claws on top. Red markings had also appeared on her fur as her body suddenly became bigger, Nathan's eyes wide with amazement, Dana and Jason smiling widely, Eric and Conkeldurr staring with amazement.

Nathan blinked, pulling out his Pokedex and seeing if this was real. His Drilbur had just evolved into an Excadrill. The boy smiled wider than ever before, a tear of joy running down the side of his face as Sammy rubbed her claws together, causing them to glitter and shine. This was a tactic known as Hone Claws, a move that gave her attacks more power.

But it didn't end there as Conkeldurr rushed at the mole, Sammy sending her claws downward across the creature's torso, making the cuts from earlier much bigger. Though this wasn't a scratch attack but rather Slash, a much more powerful move.

Conkeldurr did his best to ignore the pain, sending his fist hard into the mole's skull. But Sammy ignored this as she glared menacingly at him, delivering one last Metal claw, this time striking Conkeldurr's forehead as it came open, a bit of blood coming out as the behemoth fell hard on his back, out cold.

"SAMMY, YOU'RE AMAZING!" Dana squealed excitedly as Jason clapped and exclaimed, "Bravo!" Nathan smiling lightly and saying, "Thank you, Sammy," before returning her to her Pokeball, stuffing the ball away in his pocket.

Eric let out a sigh as he returned Conkeldurr, pulling out a badge shaped like a cinder block and threw it at Nathan saying, "Here's the Cinder Badge. You deserve it."

Nathan blinked as Dana's jaw dropped, Nathan rolling his eyes and handing it to her saying, "You know I'm not interested in the Pokemon Challenge," Dana smiling and saying, "You're the best," before putting the badge on.

With that, Jason folded his arms and said, "Alright, Eric, now that your soldiers are dealt with, we have much to discuss," Eric sighing, "Kids, I don't care how much you refuse to believe it, but I know Team Shadow has good intentions. I'm sorry, but nothing you say will convince me to quit this job."

At that exact moment, the other Shadow agents came back, the one who had been hit earlier with a bandage over the top of his head as their eyes went wide, one pointing and shouting, "HEY, WHAT ARE YOU KIDS DOING HERE!" Nathan growling as Dana and Jason took his arms and dragged him away saying, "Goodbye now," Nathan shouting, "Come on, we can take them!" Jason remarking, "No we can't! Most of our Pokemon are out cold!"

With that, the group was waiting in the center as Nathan folded his arms, his look of disinterest returning to his face as he sighed, "Well, at least Sammy finally evolved," Dana nodding and saying, "Yeah, she was so cool back there!"

At that moment, a woman by the name of Nurse Music came out and sang, "Your Pokemon are okay to return to you. I would recommend feeding them too."

Taking their Pokemon, the trainers nodded as Jason said, "Well, it is about time for lunch anyway. It's been a long morning."

With that, the group sat by a table and ate the free meal provided by the center as Nathan noticed Toby only taking a small bite every ten seconds, a look of shame on his face. Nathan rolled his eyes before petting Toby and saying, "Aw, cheer up, Tobias. You were just going up against too strong of an opponent. Zelda and Hanzo had just as hard of a time as you had, if not harder," Hanzo shooting an angry glare at the boy as he sighed, "You know I'm right," the bug once again lifting up one of its front feet as if to flip Nathan the bird.

However, Nathan then noticed something odd about Sammy. Sure, she was eating her food quickly as usual, but this was even faster than expected, so fast it barely even looked like she'd touch the plate to make the food vanish. Perhaps her new form just had a bigger appetite. After all, she had changed size. The weird thing was that after her meal, she pressed the button on her Pokeball and returned herself, Nathan shrugging and thinking this was nothing.

Meanwhile, Queen was wrapping a bib around Dana's neck, the girl giggling, "Please, I told you to stop treating me like royalty," the spider ignoring this and spit-shining the girl's fork before handing it to her, Dana thinking it would be rude to turn away the fork despite her Joltik just spitting on it.

Toby filled up with a bit more confidence, eating his meal faster as Nathan let out a sigh, Jason saying, "Man, forget about it, okay? I'm sure Eric will see his error in judgement after a while," Jason said reassuringly as Nathan nodded saying, "Well, I guess it's possible. After all, I eventually realized my mistake in joining them, so who knows?"

Dana nodded with a confident smile as the group finished lunch, returning their Pokemon and exiting the center. As they exited the middle section of town to explore their surroundings, seeing as they no longer had any business here, Nathan noticed Eric loading up the final set of boxes, having forced the Team Shadow agents to replace his beaten Pokemon and watch as the trucks took off with the goods. Nathan was not only worried about Eric but also scared of whatever was in those crates. It couldn't possibly be good if Team Shadow was delivering it.

With that, Dana noticed a gym and said, "Hey, I could win a third gym battle today!" Jason smiling and saying, "Yeah, that's really convenient, isn't it?"

"We'll be rooting for you all the way," Nathan said with a light smile as Dana shook her head and replied, "That's sweet, but honestly, I don't want you guys to waste your opportunity to explore Green City because of me."

"It's no trouble," Nathan replied with a shrug as Dana sighed, "I know you two would rather be doing something else," Jason replying, "You bet I would," taking off as Nathan resisted the urge to laugh, sighing, "Well, Dana, if you're sure of this, good luck," Dana smiling and saying, "Thanks," before heading into the gym, Nathan looking around for something that would interest him.

As he looked around, he suddenly noticed a building with a sign on the front labelled 'Pokemon Theatre'. His eyes sparkled as he thought, 'The others would probably love this,' as he entered, noticing a descent-sized lineup in front of the counter labelled 'Auditions'. He blinked as he overheard the woman at the counter asking the one at the front of the line, "Which Pokemon do you want to feature in the Pokemon Musical?"

Pokemon Musical? Nathan felt his heart beating at a rapid pace. He couldn't believe what he was hearing. He absolutely loved musicals. Of course, he'd never openly admitted this to anyone, but hey, his friends weren't around, so why not?

He stood in the line, trying to decide which of his Pokemon to use. He doubted Sammy would be a good choice as she was not only not fit for musical theatre, but she also seemed rather self-absorbed right now. Toby seemed like the kind of creature that would become nervous just from looking at the stage itself, so he decided against that. And there was no way Venipede would follow the act.

Then it hit him as he face palmed and whispered to himself, "Of course, Zelda would be perfect." After all, the snake was beautiful, graceful and friendly to those she trusted, so why not?

All the while, Dana was in the middle of a battle with the city's gym leader, a man by the name of Rocky. His gimmick was to have a double battle with his two fighters, two human-like beings who looked as if they'd been sculpted from rock and didn't have noses or ears called Throh and Sawk, who also sported karate outfits. Throh was the wider of the two and had red skin while Sawk was much skinnier and had blue skin. Throh also had a black spot shaped like a uni-brow over his eyes with a long end attached to it going down the middle like a moustache. The sections combined to form a Y shape. Sawk's looked more like an upside-down L and was only on the left half of his face.

The Pokemon Dana had chosen for this battle were Pyro and Electra. Pignite opened up the battle with Arm Thrust, hitting Sawk repeatedly in the face as Rocky snapped, "C'mon, Throh, help your buddy out!" Throh noticing Electra soaring in for a Quick attack, smacking the Emolga in the face and knocking her back-first into the ropes surrounding the battle area, which was a wrestling ring, and grabbing the Pignite's arm from behind, Pyro shocked by this as Sawk delivered a Karate Chop to the pig's midsection, Throh spinning him around before tossing him hard into the turn-buckle. This was an attack known as Storm Throw, and unless certain circumstances were involved, it would always deal twice as much damage as it should have.

Seeing this, Dana grimaced and said, "You may not know it from looking at me, but I was quite the wrestling fanatic a couple of years ago. I may know a thing or two about how to turn this ring to my advantage," Rocky rolling his eyes and remarking, "You're totally lying, dudette," Dana grinning and remarking, "Oh yeah? Check this out."

With that, she shouted a series of commands as Electra freed herself from the ropes, spinning herself vertically around it as Pyro recovered, leaping behind the ropes but still balancing on the side of the ring to keep from getting a ring-out, pulling the rope back and launching the Emolga toward the two fighters. Electra also used Spark on herself so when she ran into Throh, he ended up electrocuted, taking in even more damage while Pyro got up on the ropes and leaped into the air, aiming his arms downward and sending a hard two-handed thrust to Sawk's face, knocking the fighter down as he and Electra backed up, giving each other high-five, Dana glad to see the Pignite finally being more of a team player and not just thinking about himself.

Rocky simply stared at this, his heart beating as he thought, 'I think I'm in love,' Throh and Sawk slowly recovering, their heads spinning all the while.

Meanwhile, Nathan had gotten Zelda dressed up, the snake now wearing a fancy ballroom gown along with three flower pins on each section of her leaf-shaped tail for good measure along with a long, black wig. He then smiled lightly and said, "Break a leg," Zelda smiling and nodding, so happy to have a chance to stardom, even happier to have gotten a big part, the princess.

With that, Nathan went into the stands as the play began, one of the other Pokemon, a yellow lizard with a bag-like lower body called Scraggy coming out dressed like a prince and singing with lizard-like sounds, one hand against his heart and the other in the air, the lizard leaning down on one knee. No one understood what he was saying except the Pokemon in the crowd, but they were still dazzled by this, allowing the imagery to speak for them.

Then Zelda poked her head out the window of a castle prop and sang in her own speak, her voice like that of an angel as Nathan let couldn't contain his tears. This was just so beautiful.

Things had taken a turn for worse in the gym battle as Pyro was lying on the mat, Throh getting up and leaping into the air, setting up for Body Slam as Dana spat, "COME ON, PYRO, SNAP OUT OF IT!" Pyro's eyes widening as he rolled to the side, Throh hitting hard against the ground, the pig then noticing Sawk delivering a series of chops to Electra. Sure, the Emolga took in only half the damage from it, but it still hurt.

Seeing this, Pyro rammed into Sawk, sending him into the ropes as he bounced toward Throh, running into him. It didn't stop there as Dana shouted a few quick commands, Pyro and Electra nodding at one-another before the Pignite hurled the Emolga toward Sawk, Electra hooking his neck. Pyro then bounced himself off the rope, ramming his arms into Throh's face before Electra sent an electric surge down Sawk's spine, the blue fighter paralyzed as Pyro proceeded to hurl Throh into his partner, both out cold as a bell rang, Rocky clapping before handing Dana the Champion badge, which was shaped like the front of the championship belts awarded to pro wrestlers.

He then smiled and asked, "Say, uh, Miss Dana, would it trouble you to go on a date with me?" Dana blushing and saying, "I'm flattered, but aren't you 19?" the man remarking, "It's 4 years apart that's illegal, not 3," before adding, "Who cares about age? You're the girl of my dreams!" Dana sighing, "I'm sorry, but you're not my type," the girl leaving as he stood there, his jaw dropped as he asked himself, "Am I too weak of a trainer?"


	13. Chapter 13

Pokemon Legacy

Nathan continued to sit in the audience, truly dazzled as the play went into its final act with Scraggy, now wielding a sword went head-to-head with the Pokemon playing the villain, a shrimp with knight's armour as opposed to a shell and silver and red striped lances for hands called Escavalier. Needless to say, the Pokemon's look alone worked to his advantage during the auditions.

Scraggy and Escavalier locked blows while singing to each other in their own languages, the crowd loving this. Sure, again, the humans in the audience didn't understand a word of dialogue coming from the two, but once again, they let the acting speak for itself.

During the battle, Zelda, cowering in corner, let out a sweet melody, clearly representing how scared she was but also how much she pitied the two males for having to resort to violent tactics. Nathan was on the verge of tears simply because of how lovely her voice was, and he wasn't afraid to show it right now.

Soon, the musical came to a close with Scraggy reining supreme, bowing to Zelda as the two shared one last musical number before kissing and bringing the play to an end, the curtain covering the stage as the crowd cheered. Nathan joined in with a slow clap, back to his old secretive self while thinking, 'That's my Snivy.'

After that, Nathan waited in the lobby until Zelda came out, her decorations taken off as she ran over to Nathan, leaping into his arms as he smiled lightly, patting the snake's back and saying, "You did a great job out there, Zelda. You deserve an award and I'm going to give you just that when we meet up with the others," carrying the snake with him rather than returning her to her Pokeball, the Scraggy she'd just sang and danced with entering the lobby and seeing her off with her master, holding his hand and out and sighing, trying to remind himself it was all just a performance.

After that, he exited and looked around, wondering where the others had gone. After all, they'd all gone their separate ways. He remembered Jason wanting to try out the local arcade, so he figured he'd look there for the boy. Now he was really starting to wish he had one of those pocket phones that had just been introduced to the market a mere few months ago.

Upon heading there, he was rather surprised to see a group of people huddled around Jason as he was playing Ultimate Pokemon Fighter with a young girl about his age. After a few seconds, the girl ended up beating Jason, his eyes going wide as he groaned, "Dammit!" the girl patting him on the shoulder and saying, "You were awesome, man. I almost lost," Jason sighing and shaking her hand, replacing his disappointment with a smile.

After that, the girl gave him a piece of paper, Jason's eyes going wide as he said, "I am so buying a pocket phone now. Thanks for the great game, Catherine," the girl grinning as Jason noticed Nathan, walking over as the boy who looked over Jason's shoulder at the girl and smiling lightly before saying, "Well, I didn't know you had it in you," Jason's eyes going wide as he replied, "Whoa, man, it's not like that! She's just a really awesome new friends, okay?"

Nathan tried to avoid chuckling while Zelda did it for him, Jason asking, "What's Zelda doing out of her Pokeball?" Nathan replying, "That's hardly your concern," Jason shrugging as the two walked off to find Dana.

After a while of searching, the two remembered that Dana was having a gym battle. Perhaps it was over and she'd gone to the Pokemon Centre. With that in mind, the two headed right there as sure enough, Dana was receiving her Pokemon from Nurse Musical.

After receiving a few words in the form of song from the woman, Dana returned to the others with a smile and said, "Guess who just got herself her third gym badge," Nathan replying, "Someone named Mable?" Jason, Dana and Zelda staring, Jason asking, "Whoa, man, when did you get a sense of humor?" Nathan shrugging and replying, "I usually choose not to show it."

With that, the group laughed, Nathan congratulating Dana as he decided now would be a good time to try out the mall, remembering how much Dana wanted to go there. All the while, he continued to keep Zelda on his shoulder as the group soon found the building, entering it. Dana's eyes sparkled. This place was so big, bright and colourful. She'd never seen anything like it before.

Nathan and Jason were also quite impressed, especially by the high number of stores in the place. While Jason and Dana decided to check out all the shops, Nathan looked around and stroked Zelda's head asking, "So, anything here you really want?"

The Snivy looked around and soon noticed a jewelry store, Nathan swallowing his pride and entering, not sure if this would be humiliating or not. Upon entering, a group of customers stared, rather surprised, not so much by the sight of a boy entering a jewelry store but rather a boy dressed in all black. However, when they saw the Snivy on his shoulder looking at the jewelry and trying to pick something out, they put two and two together and decided to go back to their own business.

After a while, Zelda noticed a beautiful blue medallion, pointing at it as Nathan laughed and picked it up, reading the instructions, the paper talking of how the medallion was to be attached to someone's forehead. Seeing how much Zelda wanted it, he quickly purchased the gem, pulling it out of its package and immediately latching it to the snake's forehead, Zelda looking in a mirror and smiling.

"You earned it," Nathan said with a light smile saying, "It really does suit you. Maybe next time you join a musical, you can dazzle the crowd even more with that."

Jason was in the pocket phone store as he looked at them sighing, "Aren't there any cheap ones?" a salesman walking over to him and saying, "Hey, sonny, if you want a cheap pocket phone, look no further," Jason staring at him as the man whipped out a box saying, "This one is currently being sold for the low, low price of, well, nothing!"

Jason's eyes went wide with shock as the man said, "That's right! You can own this today and it's absolutely free!" Jason exclaiming, "I'll take it!" the salesman smiling before handing the boy the box, adding, "Now we'll discuss the service charge, text messaging, your plan fee, the 'have it create a holographic image of the person you're talking to' charge, and that's the cheapest stuff," Jason narrowing his eyelids and sighing, planting his palm against his face and groaning, "What have I gotten myself into?"

All the while, Dana was looking through random shops, not sure which one to stick with. She just wanted to check out everything. After a while, she noticed Rocky in a cologne and perfume shop of all things but figured she should ignore him. After all, things were rather awkward between the two when they last saw each other.

Meanwhile, at the Team Shadow headquarters, Sabrina was walking around the building, looking for things to do when she peered out one the windows out of boredom, noticing a group of trucks pulling up in the driveway and grinning. Her cargo that Eric had helped load up was here, and she knew he must have helped because it shouldn't have taken this short of time.

With that, she quickly made her way to the entrance to meet up with her agents and asked, "Is this all of it?" one of the agents nodding and saying, "Every last crate is here and intact," Eric coming out of one of the trucks and saying, "So you're Sabrina I take it," the woman nodding with a smile and shaking his hand saying, "I heard you were good, but not this good. I must say, I'm impressed."

"You flatter me, really," Eric replied with a quick laugh before asking, "Say, is there anywhere inside where I can heal my Pokemon? I didn't have enough time to have them rest at the centre before leaving."

Sabrina tilted her head to the side and asked, "Did something happen?" Eric sighing, "Yeah, they got in a quick scuffle, but it's nothing too serious. They still need healing though," figuring that if he told the whole story, Sabrina might make too big of a deal out of it, not in the way Nathan implied but Eric was certain Sabrina might take it too seriously and consider having an agent 'deal with the potential threat'.

Sabrina simply nodded and directed the man inside saying, "There's a healing machine on each floor. Someone inside will direct you to one," Eric nodding with a smile as Sabrina turned her attention back to the cargo and grinning while saying, "Excellent work bringing this here. As you know, we need this core extract to tame the legendary beasts."

All the while, Jack had finally found Green City, growling as he looked around asking, "Alright, where is that godforsaken gym leader?" the teens from earlier walking by and hearing this as one turned to Jack and said, "Are you looking for Eric too? He just left somewhere with a bunch of cargo trucks," Jack gritting his teeth, resisting the urge to curse as Oshawott sprayed some water in his face, the boy sighing, "I'd scold you for splashing me, but honestly, I kind of needed that," Oshawott happy to be of assistance.

However, just as Jack was about to vent his current frustration, he noticed a true sight for sore eyes as Nathan and his friends were exiting the mall, which was closer to the entrance than one would have expected. Seeing this, Jack grinned and said to himself, "Look, Oshawott, we just hit the jackpot," Oshawott remembering how much his master hated Nathan, the otter nodding with a serious look on his face.

With that, Jack marched over to Nathan, Oshawott now clinging to his arm, much to the boy's dismay. However, he chose to ignore this as he was more than used to it by now.

"Alright, after days of searching, I finally found you!" Jack spat as Nathan rolled his eyes, sighing, "Oh, you came here for little old me? You really need to get a life. I'm not into guys," Dana, Jason and Jack staring as Jack asked, "When in the hell did you get a sense of humor?" Nathan smiling lightly before Jack shook his head and snapped, "Never mind! I've made my team stronger! I'm going to take you down this time!" Nathan rolling his eyes and remarking, "I'm sure you will," Jack scowling and pulling out a Pokeball saying, "Say hello to my new little friend," sending his Pawniard, the knight-like being taking form.

"Wow, that thing is way too cool for your team," Nathan said as Jack spat, "SHUT UP! I AM SO COOLER THAN YOU!"

Dana looked at the two with much interest. It seemed that whenever Nathan was around Jack, he became more of a smart alek. Either way, she was sure Nathan would win again, especially now that Sammy had evolved.

Looking at Pawniard's stats on the Pokedex, Nathan realized that Sammy was hands-down the best choice for this kind of opponent. Well, he did want to show off her new Excadrill form, so as such, he pulled out her Pokeball as Sammy took form.

Seeing the mole before him, Jack's eyes went wide, his jaw dropped as his body started to twitch. Even Pawniard was looking a tad scared when looking at the beast. After a few seconds, Jack pointed up toward the creature and spat, "YOUR DRILBUR EVOLVED!" Nathan smiling lightly and saying, "Yeah, just recently too."

Jack simply swallowed, refusing to let this get to him as he was about to shout a command, Nathan exclaiming, "START THINGS OFF WITH MUD SLAP!"

However, Excadrill didn't even seem to hear the command or even care about the battle as she sat down, picking her unnoticeable ear, faking a yawn before folding her arms. Nathan blinked and waved before asking, "Did you hear me, Sammy?" silence filling the area, Nathan repeating, "Sammy?"

"What's going on?" Dana asked, "Why isn't she listening to him?" Jason shaking his head and replying, "I have no idea."

After a while, Nathan put on a look of concern as Sammy looked at him as if ordering him to return her to her ball. Nathan got the message right away as he stared with shock, slowly returning the mole.

"Is this some kind of joke?" Jack asked as Nathan shook his head saying, "I don't get it either..." then shaking his head, he realized he needed to keep his head in the game and stated, "Sammy or no Sammy, you're still going down!"

Seeing no better choices right now, he sighed and sent Hanzo into the battle saying, "Do your best out there..." the Venipede, as usual, not waiting for an order before rolling up into a ball, charging at Pawniard, Nathan still trying to get over his shock. It was because of this shock that he sent Hanzo out, knowing Hanzo didn't care whether he received orders or not.

Pawniard was now at the ready again as Jack shouted an order, the warrior leaping to the side to avoid the Rollout. Fortunately, though, he wasn't fast enough as Hanzo's shell nicked his leg, the soldier falling on his side as Hanzo turned around, running over Pawniard like a wheel, the Pokemon crying out in pain while Jack bit his collar, a look of stress on his face. Nathan had certainly made a comeback with this Pokemon, that's for sure.

However when Hanzo got close to landing another blow, Jack shouted, "PAWNIAR, USE METAL CLAW, BUT HOLD IT IN FRONT OF YOU LIKE A SHIELD!" Nathan looking up, rather surprised to hear Jack come up with such a clever strategy, Pawniard's blades becoming silver as he held them in front of his face, Hanzo running into them, Pawniard skidding a bit across the ground.

But just as it seemed the soldier's efforts were in vein, Hanzo started to slow down as Dana gulped, Jason wincing and Pawniard threw his arms outward, sending the Venipede flying back a bit, uncurling himself and falling hard on his backside. The shell did soften the blow a bit, but it still hurt, and to make matters worse, Pawniard took full advantage of this as he leaped on top of the bug, slashing it across the chest as a bit of green blood sprayed out, touching the Pawniard's face and Jack laughing maniacally while Dana covered her eyes.

Seeing this, Nathan finally snapped out of his trance and spat, "HANZO, I KNOW YOU THINK I'M DUMB AND SHOULDN'T GIVE ADVICE, BUT I HIGHLY RECOMMEND RETURNING!" pulling out his Pokeball and aiming at the bug only for Hanzo to roll forward, ramming his head into Pawniard and knocking the soldier off. With that, the bug also rolled forward, avoiding the beam from the ball as Nathan narrowed his eyelids sighing, "Why did I not see that coming?"

But, as luck would have it, Hanzo did a descent job ignoring the immense pain in his pelvis as he screech at Pawniard, the soldier covering the sides of his head before the bug proceeded roll into him once more, this time taking Pawniard out for good, a look of pride on his face while Jack stared with disappointment, sighing and returning Pawniard.

Nathan breathed a sigh of relief and said, "Excellent job, Hanzo," the Venipede rather liking the praise but putting on a smug look as if to say 'Damn straight'.

However, this was far from over as Jack pulled out another Pokeball, hurling it forward as Zorua took form, everyone staring in absolute shock, Dana pulling out her Pokedex just to confirm what she was seeing. How and where had Jack gotten a Zorua? Not only were they extremely rare, they were also incredibly difficult to capture.

"I see you're impressed," Jack said with a smug grin, "Well, let's see you take this on," Nathan gulping and figuring that Hanzo wanted to keep fighting, though this wouldn't be such a bad thing. What Jack didn't realize was that Zoruas were weak against bug type attacks. It was a shame the Venipede didn't seem to know any, though.

Hanzo started things off by curling up into a ball, an aura surrounding him before using his usual Rollout, Zorua looking rather scared as she sniffed, rubbing her eyes, Jack saying, "Hey, don't start crying on me..." then noticing an aura surrounding Hanzo, he realized this was her Fake Tears technique, a move that lowered defense.

She then leaped to the side, easily avoiding Hanzo as he uncurled his ball, Zorua then leaping at him, ramming her head into him as a dark aura surrounded her. Hanzo was about to respond when Zorua walked over to the bug, looking rather non-threatening before raising her paw, slamming it hard into his face like a sucker punch. This was known as Faint Attack.

With that, Hanzo was down for the count, Nathan gulping before returning him. He held up Toby's ball, praying that the Tympole had at least developed a tad more self confidence before sending him in, Jack staring for a few seconds.

"You replaced a powerful Venipede with a Tympole..." he said as Nathan nodded, Jack breaking out into hysterics as Dana fumed, saying, "He is so judgemental," Jason sighing, "Thank you, Captain Obvious," Dana glaring at him.

Seeing Zorua, however, Toby didn't feel quite as scared as when he faced Conkeldurr. If anything, he felt a little bit confident due to the fact that he was facing an opponent only a little bit bigger than him. Seeing this, Nathan smiled lightly, figuring this might just turn out well after all.


	14. Chapter 14

Pokemon Legacy

Note: Yes, people, the Unova Core is completely made-up. Hey, it's my story. I can do what I want.

Seeing Toby's slight confidence gave Nathan a bit of confidence too. Perhaps he could win this battle. However, before he could think about this further, Jack shouted a command, Zorua leaping at the Tympole, one of her paws raised as a small claw pointed out of it.

However, Nathan was fully confident in himself as he grinned and shouted, "Tobias, counter with Bubble Beam!" Toby's cheeks puffing up as Zorua froze, fear in her eyes while Jack spat, "AT LEAST ATTEMPT TO DODGE!"

But it was too late as Toby released a set of bubbles. However, this wasn't quite what Nathan had in mind as rather than unleashing a stream of spiralling bubble, he instead released a small set of bubbles that floated toward Zorua's face, popping upon impact. The fox had taken in some slight pain, sure, but not nearly as much as she feared.

"Toby, I told you to use Bubble Beam, not Bubble..." Nathan said, Toby blinking in confusion before attempting it again only to release another Bubble Attack, Zorua using her previous prepared Scratch attack to pop them.

"Oh, I see what you did there," Jack said with a grin, "You tricked us into thinking that Tympole was going to use Bubble Beam so Zorua would drop her guard." However, seeing Nathan's look of shock immediately changed the boy's tune as he broke out into hysterics shouting, "Oh my god, you really believed that thing was going to use Bubble Beam! You must have just caught him if you thought he was experienced enough to know such a powerful move!"

But Nathan had seen Toby use a Bubble Beam without his consent during the battle with Conkeldurr. What was wrong? Once a Pokemon used an attack, it was only natural said Pokemon would use it again. Nathan wasn't the kind who normally made such a mistake.

"I don't get it," Jason said, scratching his head, "You saw Toby use Bubble Beam, right?" Dana shaking her head and replying, "I was too caught up in my own battle at that time, but if you saw it, then clearly he must know the attack. Why didn't he use it?"

"Alright, forget Bubble Beam," Nathan said, "Use something else, like Growl!"

Toby nodded and growled at Zorua. Unfortunately, this growl was so weak and pathetic that it had absolutely no effect on the fox, Zorua becoming bored as Jack nodded, the fox Zorua raising her claw out and scratching the Tympole hard in the face, Toby crying out in pain as his forehead came open, a bit of blood coming out.

Nathan had no idea what to do, then shouted another command, Toby sending a sound wave from his mouth at Zorua. Luckily, unlike Conkeldurr, Zorua had very sensitive hearing. As such, the Supersonic actually effected her as her eyes started swirling, Jack's eyes wide with fear as Zorua proceeded to smack herself hard in the face then started running around before biting her own tail. And unlike when canines bit their own tails, this actually hurt.

At that moment, Tympole started to look more confident as his cheeks puffed up, the tadpole unleashing Bubble Beam as Zorua skidded backwards from the impact, snapping out of her confusion. Seeing this, Jack gulped and exclaimed, "It does know Bubble Beam!"

However, Zorua easily recovered and charged at Toby, the Tympole trying again. Unfortunately, he ended up failing to use the attack a second time as Zorua dodged the Bubble attack and sent a series of Fury Swipes to the tadpole's face. Seeing this, Nathan whipped out his Pokeballs, Zorua starting up her Pursuit attack as the beam from the ball hit Toby.

Just as Toby was about to return to his Pokeball, Zorua rammed hard into him, knocking him out as he finally returned, Nathan's eyes wide with shock. He stared at the ball then at Zorua then at Jack then to his friends who shrugged in response to this.

"Wait, the beam from the ball hit Toby," Nathan said, Jack nodding and asking, "Yeah, I saw that. Your point?" Nathan pausing for a few seconds and asking, "Shouldn't he have returned right away to save himself from being knocked out?"

Jack let out a wicked laugh and replied, "That's the beauty of Pursuit. See, if you so much as attempt to have your Pokemon exit a battle while the attack is being performed, the Target Pokemon still gets hit by it no matter what. If anything, you'd have been better off keeping him the battle so he at least had an attempt to counter Zorua's attack, not that it would have made any difference, mind you."

Dana looked with worry as Nathan made his current fear quite obvious. But could one really blame him right now? After all, his best Pokemon wasn't listening to him, Hanzo and Tympole were down for the count and Zelda, who knew the least attacks of anyone in his team was the only one left while Jack still had three Pokemon who were able to fight. Still, he had to be confident as he took a deep breath and pulled out Zelda's Pokeball.

"Alright, Zelda, let's make this count," the boy said as he sent the Snivy into the battle, Jack noticing the blue gem on her forehead and asked, "What's with the accessory?" Dana folding her arms and grumbling, "I think it's pretty," Jason nodding and saying, "It is quite suiting, I must say."

"Does how I accessorize my Pokemon really matter?" Nathan quipped as Jack blinked and nodded his head saying, "You're right, it doesn't. Anyway, Zorua, make quick work of this one!"

But as Zorua charged toward the snake, Nathan shouted a command as Zelda leaped to the side, releasing a set of vines from her armpits and wrapping them around the fox, squeezing tightly. Zorua's eyes went wide until she eventually passed out from the pressure, Jack staring with fear.

"Well, you're lucky she took in quite a bit of damage beforehand," he grumbled, returning the fox and pulling out another ball only for Oshawott to pull on the boy's pant leg, Jack staring.

Seeing the look on the otter's face and how he was pointing at the Snivy, Jack blinked and asked, "Are you serious?" Oshawott putting on a serious look and nodding, clearly wanting revenge on the snake for their previous battle as Jack let out a sigh, saying, "Actually, that may not be such a bad idea. You can weaken her for Axew."

With that, Oshawott entered the battle and puffed up her cheeks, Jack retorting, "WAIT FOR MY COMMAND THIS TIME, OKAY!" Oshawott holding still, swallowing the water building up inside of him and burping before covering his mouth with one hand, Jack slapping his forehead and groaning, "Please, God, make this work out."

However, he couldn't wait any longer as Nathan immediately had Zelda use Vine Whip, the snake releasing more vines and spinning her body around like a twister, smacking Oshawott in the face repeatedly with them. However, after five smacks from the whips, Oshawott grabbed onto them and pulled hard on them, fury in his eyes. His anger was more than enough to allow the otter to overpower the snake, pulling her inward.

Seeing this, Jack shouted, "WHEN SHE CLOSES IN, HIT HER WITH FURY CUTTER!" Dana, Jason and Nathan's eyes wide with terror, the Snivy closing in as Oshawott proceeded to strike her repeatedly with his microscopic claws, Zelda's vines retracting.

Fury Cutter was a bug type move, which meant Zelda was weak against it and took in twice the damage. However, the snake was not going to stand for this as she did her best to ignore the pain, lifting up one arm and letting out one Vine Whip, punching Oshawott in the face with it and ending the attack, the otter rubbing his face and spitting up a bit of blood.

But the assault didn't end there as Oshawott, willing to do anything to impress his master, pried the seashell off of his chest and pointed it toward Zelda. He then propped it open as a series of razor sharp seashells flew out, hitting the Snivy hard. This was an attack known as Razor Shell, and while it was a water type attack, it was still effective and even managed to lower Zelda's defense, which was evident by the blue aura that briefly surrounded her.

Seeing this, Nathan breathed heavily and gulped before saying, "It's okay, Zelda... this is just a minor setback..." Zelda bleeding from the shells as Jack whistled, rather impressed before saying, "Hey, you might actually win this fight, Oshawott."

But as luck would have it, Zelda slowly started to recover, breathing heavily but still going as she let out a fierce battle cry, spinning her body around as a twister covered her body, leaves soon shooting from her armpits and blowing in the tornado. With that, she then stopped spinning as the tornado of leaves moved toward Oshawott, the otter's eyes going wide with terror as the attack hit him hard, sending him flying back a bit as he tumbled across the ground, soon stopping on his back, slowly getting up but feeling weak.

Nathan's eyes sparkled as he said, "Well, look at that. My Snivy just learned Leaf Tornado," Dana and Jason cheering as Dana squealed, "Nathan's gonna win now, right!"

But Jason's look of confidence turned to one of doubt as he pointed at Oshawott saying, "Don't look now, but I think you may be wrong on this matter," Dana blinking and staring, seeing what Jason meant, Nathan and Jack also staring in confusion.

Oshawott's fur had suddenly turned completely blue a bit of fur sticking up like a spike on the back of his head. His ears then became brown and slightly bigger, two snow white whiskers sprouting from each side of his face. He also looked as if he was wearing an ocean blue skirt of some kind with a seashell on each of his hips, the otter becoming much taller.

Dana blinked before pulling out her Pokedex, saying, "It seems Oshawott has just evolved into Dewott," a grin forming on Jack's face, Zelda trembling with fear as Nathan gulped, saying, "It's not a big deal, right Zelda? After all, you still have the upper hand."

Zelda nodded, shaking off her fear as she unleashed another Leaf Tornado only for Dewott's cheeks to puff up, the otter unleashing a big ball of water. Despite being made of water, it was enough to stop the twister, the leaves separating from each other in various directions before falling to the ground. This was known as Water Pulse, and had this hit Zelda, there would have been a chance of it confusing her.

However, Nathan pretended not to be intimidated by this as he said, "Try using Vine Whip," Zelda sending her vines forward only for Dewott to grab them, lifting the vines up, thus lifting the snake into the air. He then grinned and wiggled the vines until Zelda's back was facing the ground, lowing the vines as the Snivy soon hit the pavement fast and hard.

However, Zelda soon saw an opportunity as she focused on making the vines longer, actually succeeding as they made their way over to Dewott's neck, wrapping themselves around it and pulling tightly, the otter grunting in pain. But as Jack was about to suggest a way out of this, Dewott managed to get just enough open space in his neck to release a water gun into Zelda's face, the snake releasing the blow and passing out. Despite this being Dewott's weakest water type attack, Zelda had taken in so much damage prior to this that she couldn't handle anymore.

Nathan stood there silent, staring in absolute horror at the results that had just ensued. His heart started to race as he realized it was over, slowly holding up his Pokeball and returning Zelda. Dana clasped her hands over her mouth as Jason bit his lip, gulping.

But Nathan wasn't willing to accept this as he pulled out Sammy's Pokeball and hurling it into the area, the Excadrill taking form and looking at the Dewott, blinking. However, Jack wasn't the least bit intimidated now as Nathan shouted, "Alright, Sammy, hit him with Metal Claw!"

But Sammy merely scratched her rear end, ignoring this as Nathan asked, "How about Fury Swipes?" the mole yawning and sitting down, folding her arms.

"Why won't she listen?" Dana asked as Jason sighed, "I don't get it either. Hanzo may not listen either, but at least he's willing to fight."

Nathan then let down a slight tear and said, "Sammy, it's me, you know, Nathan. We're best friends, remember?"

Upon hearing this, Sammy got up, Nathan smiling lightly as the mole turned to him, walking over as Nathan sighed, "I knew you wouldn't forget." But he was soon eating his words when Sammy reached a claw into his pocket, scooping up her Pokeball and placing it in Nathan's hand, hitting the button as the beam shot out, returning her, Nathan standing there with his eyes wide and his jaw dropped, absolutely speechless now.

Jack then returned his Dewott as Nathan breathed heavily asking, "I guess this means I have to return to Team Shadow, right?" Dana pleading, "Nathan, don't go through with that!" Nathan sighing, "Sorry, but when I owe people something in return for an act of any kind, I never go against those wishes."

But just as the boy was about to accept his fate, Jack rolled his eyes and spat, "No! I don't want you coming back yet!" everyone else staring with confusion as the boy added, "I can't even enjoy this loss! That was too pathetic! I'll face you again when you've got your act together! Only then will I accept my reward for wiping the ground with your face, but for now, consider yourself lucky!" the boy headed off to the center to heal his Pokemon for the gym battle he knew he'd soon be having.

Nathan fell down on his knees, still breathing heavily as Dana walked over to him, placing a hand on his shoulder but saying nothing. She could tell talking was the last thing he wanted to do right now.

Seeing as it was getting late, the trio decided to spend the night at the Pokemon center as there was a guest room for trainers. However, Nathan couldn't sleep as he walked to a screen phone, dialling a few numbers as a ringing voice came out stating that his call was going through.

After a few seconds, Professor Yae's face appeared on the screen as she yawned and moaned, "Hello, do you know what time it..." noticing Nathan and putting on a sheepish smile saying, "Oh, hi Nathan. Enjoying the life of a trainer?"

"Well, for the most part," Nathan replied with a sigh, Yae blinking and saying, "You seem upset. What's wrong?"

Nathan then proceeded to explain the whole situation involving Sammy and her sudden change in moods, Yae nodding and stating, "Well, that's certainly interesting," Nathan asking, "What's wrong with her? She's always been so happy and friendly. Is she sick?" Yae shaking her head and explaining, "She's just growing."

"That makes no sense whatsoever," Nathan remarked as the professor sighed, "Look, it's like when humans grow up, their personalities start to change a bit. It's the same deal with Pokemon. When they evolve, they change a bit on the inside as well as the outside. It's part of life," Nathan's eyes going wide as he groaned, "So this is permanent..." Yae shaking her head and replying, "Absolutely not. See, also like when humans grow up, there are traces of their old personalities, or nostalgia as some call it, within them. She still remembers you as her friend. She just has to take time to realize it. Until then, try to encourage the change, but not too much, alright?"

Nathan took a deep breath and nodded, a light smile forming on his face as he quickly thanked the professor, hanging up and deciding to call it a night. At least now he knew things with Sammy weren't completely hopeless. As such, he could rest with ease now.

Meanwhile, at the Team Shadow headquarters, Sabrina was just about to get some sleep when the professor from earlier entered her room, Sabrina groaning, taking her blindfold off of her eyes and asking, "What do you want, Johnson?" the professor saying, "You might want to see this."

With that, the man led Sabrina to the area where Victini was being kept, pointing at the creature as it was actually out of its casing, melted plastic on the ground as Johnson sighed, "I told you we should have gone with glass," Victini shooting a blast of fire at the window to the room it was kept in, having no effect on that as Johnson added, "See? It can't melt glass!"

"But it can't shatter plastic," Sabrina remarked before sighing, "What do you expect me to do about this?"

Johnson pushed up his glasses and replied, "You did receive a big shipment of extract from the Unova Core, right?" Sabrina nodding and replying, "Yes, but I'm saving that for when we find get the legendary dragons to come to us," Johnson pinching his forehead and remarking, "Right now, that is the only way to tame Victini. You will need to create something out of it. I'm sure there will be more than enough leftover for the dragons."

Sabrina let out yet another sigh and figured she had no other choice in the matter. With that, she went to the vault where it was kept and upon touching it, just the mere fact that she was thinking of making a big capsule out of it was enough for get a small fraction of the stuff to form into that very shape. Sabrina and Johnson looked at each other with a smile, Sabrina seeing so many possibilities with this.


	15. Chapter 15

Pokemon Legacy

The following morning, after a quick breakfast, Nathan and the others were back on the road, now entering a mountain region. And just as expected, it was full of rocks, not a single tree or anything in sight. Nevertheless, Dana was rather amazed by this. She hadn't been to a mountainous area in years and, hey, it certainly beat entering another forest, right?

While the trio moved along, Nathan looked around, spotting a lot of different Pokemon but nothing he really wanted. After a little bit more searching, Dana spotted one particular Pokemon and signalled the others to stop, then pointed at it. Nathan and Jason had to admit, they were quite impressed by Dana's decision.

This creature was a small orange ant with a big stone shell on its tail, a creature by the name of Dwebble. Dana found this to be absolutely adorable as she simply had to have it. However, Nathan knew right off the bat this would be difficult as Dana didn't really have anything that a Dwebble would be weak against.

However, Dana saw that the creature was a bug and sent in Electra, Jason and Nathan slapping their hands against their foreheads. Sure, this wasn't a terrible choice, but it wasn't a great one either. At the very least, Dwebble wasn't exactly strong against flying or electric type moves, but still, the two figured that Pyro would have been a much better choice with his superior strength.

With that, Dana grinned and shouted, "GO IN THERE WITH A QUICK ATTACK!" as Nathan rolled his eyes. If anything, this was the worst move in Electra's arsenal to pick. Nevertheless, the flying rodent obeyed and flew toward the ant, Dwebble noticing her and quickly tucking its body into its shell, the Emolga flying head-first into it before groaning in agony, struggling to stand up straight as she rubbed her forehead.

Dana clasped her hands over her mouth and squealed, "I'm so sorry, Electra! Are you okay!" as the Emolga's eyes continued to spin, the rodent faking a smile and giving her master a thumbs up before Dwebble unleashed a set of rocks from his mouth, hitting the back of Electra's head. Since she was part flying type, this Rock Blast dealt a lot of damage to her.

"Okay, Electra, go back into the air!" Dana exclaimed, "You'll be safe up there!" But just as the flying rodent spread out her skin flaps and leaped into the air, Dwebble jumped high into the air, slamming both claws hard into her head and sending her into the ground, Electra groaning in agonizing pain as the Dwebble folded its arms with a proud smile on its face.

What it had just used was an attack called Smack Down, another rock type move that made it so flying types couldn't fly until the end of the battle. Nathan simply shook his head before saying, "Dana, electric type attacks actually have a descent effect on Dwebbles," Dana's eyes going wide as she grinned and shouted, "In that case, hit it with Spark!" the Emolga nodding and releasing an electric current from her cheeks, hitting the bug hard before it tucked into its shell, avoiding further damage.

Seeing how helpless this had gotten, Dana sighed and returned Electra, saying, "What was I thinking? I should have sent in Pyro..." but before she could do so, a certain Pokeball started to rotate as Dana picked it up sighing, "I'm sorry, Queen, but you can't win this battle," the ball rotating even faster as the girl looked at Nathan and Jason, the two boys shrugging while the girl let out a sigh of defeat, sending the spider into the battle.

With that, the Joltik awaited her instructions as Dana tried to figure out what she could do. Then she realized that Dwebble with its high defense and all could stand to lose a bit of it and had the Joltik use Screech, Queen unleashing a piercing sound from her mouth, Dwebble covering the sides of its head while closing its eyes.

With that, Dwebble tucked into his shell again as she wondered what the spider could do now, Nathan rolling his eyes before stating, "Joltiks are generally born with Leech Life," Dana's eyes sparkling as she said, "Alright, Queen, give that a try," the spider bowing her head before opening up her mouth, energy coming from the bug and seeping into the spider, Dwebble poking its body out of its shell and realizing had just taken in damage despite being in its shell.

Clearly, hiding would not save it this time as beat its claws against the sand, causing it to fly into the Joltik's eyes, Queen covering them and rubbing her face while Dana looked with fear. Queen had just taken in Sand Attack, meaning she wouldn't be able to see her opponent as easily. Never the less, leaped toward Dwebble while spinning her body, her legs pointed out but ended up missing and instead hit an actual rock next to her opponent, causing the first leg that hit it a bit of pain.

Dwebble took full advantage of this, using its own Fury Cutter as it swiped its claws repeatedly into Queen's face, the spider bleeding a bit while Jason grimaced, saying, "This is terrible. Dana's getting her ass handed to her and it's just one little bug, too!"

To make matters worse, Dwebble then proceeded to bite the wound it had created with Bug Bite, only making the bleeding worse before Queen let out a loud battle cry, opening her mouth wide and releasing a web with sparks flying from it. As the wed latched itself to Dwebble's face, the rock bug's eyes went wide before the creature cried out in agonizing pain, backing up and attempting to pry it off before realizing this was difficult, slowly cutting it off.

"Wow, Queen, you just used Electroweb!" Dana squealed before shouting, "Now take advantage of this with String Shot!"

The Joltik before before squinting her eyes, noticing which of the rock formations was the Dwebble, made perfectly clear by the fact that it was actually moving this time. With that, the spider unleashed a set of string, tying both of Dwebble's claws together so now it couldn't cut off the electric web. Eventually the web became too much to bare as Dwebble passed out.

Dana's eyes sparkled as she seized the opportunity, hurling an empty Pokeball forward as the bug was soon consumed into it, the ball rotating a bit before the light vanished, Dana raising her fist in triumph. Jason cheered while Nathan let out a sigh, smiling lightly and clapping as well. He had to admit, that was a very impressive comeback.

Releasing the ant from its ball, Dana held the creature up, ignoring the immense weight caused by the rock on its back and said, "Welcome to the team," looking under it briefly before adding, "Edmond."

Looking into the girl's eyes, the Dwebble realized that maybe Dana would make a good owner for him as he smiled himself, Jason saying, "Well, that certainly turned out well," suddenly hearing an explosion, everyone's eyes going wide with shock.

Nathan looked toward a cloud of smoke coming from the top of a mountain as he narrowed his eyelids, Dana and Jason knowing right away that he wanted to investigate. They certainly couldn't blame him for they were curious too. However, while Dana was more than willing, Jason was a tad frightened. After all, whatever could create an explosion like that couldn't be good."

Meanwhile, at the top of the mountain, a young man with silver hair and a blue trench coat stood next to a woman with black hair, an orange skirt and a red T-shirt. Standing behind them was a group of Team Shadow agents, the silver-haired man holding a device of some kind with a red button on it, the smoke from the previous explosion in front of them by the base of the mountaintop.

"Are you sure this is the right thing to do, Jeffrey?" the woman asked as the man, Jeffrey let out a big laugh and replied, "Geez, Tabitha, you're always such a worrywart. I told you already, this is for the greater good."

Soon, the smoke started to vanish as a black orb lay there, Tabitha blinking and looking at it before tilting her head to the side? This was it? This was what they blew up the top of the mountain for? This hardly seemed worth it.

Jeff, on the other hand, was ecstatic as he ran over to the orb, picking it up while the Team Shadow agents grinned, clapping their hands while one whispered to another, "This guy's the best recruit we ever got," the other whispering back, "Not so sure about the girl, though. She asks too many questions," one behind the two replying, "I don't care. She's hot and dresses hot," the two rolling their eyes.

"Not to be rude or anything..." Tabitha stated, walking over to Jeff and asking, "but what is that?"

"Well, textbooks state that the great dragon Zekrom is connected to this," the man replied with a grin, "None of us at Team Shadow actually know what it does, but we're certain that it'll get the beast to come to us," Tabitha nodding and faking a smile before saying, "Well, I'm glad to have been of some help to you in finding this. Now if you'll excuse me, I have to return to my gym."

Hearing this, Jeffrey sighed and placed a hand on the woman's shoulder before stating, "Tabitha, we're talking about world peace here. You can go have your precious gym battles and hand out badges if you must, but I'm going to focus on preserving peace here."

"Easy for you to say," Tabitha remarked, "You're an elite 4 member, not a gym leader," noticing how serious Jeff was and sighed, "Alright, fine, I'll join Team Shadow," Jeff grinning and giving the girl a hug, Tabitha already wondering if this was a good decision or not.

At that moment, Nathan, Dana and Jason arrived at the top of the mountain, Electra mustering up enough strength to help Dana climb while Jason had Mighty use his Vine Whip to grab onto ledges, helping him climb up while he clung to the monkey's ankles. Nathan used his own natural strength, knowing Sammy wouldn't be willing to help him yet and rolled his eyes at the sight of everyone else relying on their Pokemon. Either way, it got them up faster, so who was he to complain?

With that, the trio peered over the edge, Nathan narrowing his eyelids and whispering, "I knew it... Team Shadow..." then seeing the orb in Jeff's hand, Jason whispering, "Hey, isn't that one of the Elite 4?" Dana and Nathan staring as Jason nodded and replied, "Yeah, I've seen a poster of these guys. That's Jeff, 'The Psychic Master'."

"Who's the other one not dressed like a Team Shadow member?" Dana asked as Jason shrugged his shoulders replying, "That I don't know," as Nathan nodded, whispering, "Come on, whatever they're doing with Team Shadow can't possibly be good."

One of the Team Shadow agents had just finished a call with Sabrina on his pocket phone when the trio rose up, Jason pointing forward and shouting, "PUT THAT ORB DOWN, WHATEVER IT IS!" Nathan and Dana slapping their foreheads as Nathan sighed, "I wish there was room for us to use an actual strategy," Dana sighing, "That action phrase sucked by the way, Jason."

Turning to face them, the Team Shadow Agents laughed as one asked, "Come on, what are you kids gonna do to stop us?" Jeff putting on a serious expression and saying, "Stand aside, men," the agents daring not to question him as Tabitha sighed with relief, figuring that Jeff was going to let these meddlers off easy.

As he approached them, Jason pulled out a pen and paper, Nathan and Dana staring as Jason asked, "Before we go into further business, can I have your autograph Mister Jeffrey, sir?" Jeffrey smiling before laughing and replying, "Please, Jeffrey or just Jeff is fine," picking up the pen and paper, Nathan and Dana continuing to stare in absolute disbelief as the Elite 4 member wrote down his name, muttering, "To my loyal fan, uh..."

"Jason," the boy stated as Jeff nodded and wrote down his name, handing him the paper as Nathan decided to ignore this before saying, "Look, Jeff, you've probably been told that Team Shadow is trying to help save the world, right?"

"Yes, despite what you may have heard, son, they are," Jeff replied with a proud grin as Nathan shook his head and replied, "Jeffrey, sir, you're being lied to," Jeff and Tabitha staring with interest as bunch of agents made a neck-slitting motion with nervous expressions on their faces, Tabitha looking at them as they started acting natural again, Nathan adding, "I was once a member of Team Shadow, and it wasn't like I wanted to, either. Trust me on this one. They're not as good as they want you to believe."

Jeff sighed and shook his head saying, "Look, kid, I want to believe you, but how do I know you're not making this up to change my mind?" Tabitha having a bit of trouble believing it herself, especially with how strong she'd heard Team Shadow's security was therefore she doubted anyone could escape from there.

At that moment, a Team Shadow helicopter arrived, a ladder going down as Jeff said, "You guys wait in the chopper. I'm going to teach these kids a lesson," pulling out a Pokeball when Tabitha placed her hands on his shoulders and said, "No, you go on. I want to take these foolish children myself," a serious look in her eyes as Jeff dared not question the obviously insincere wording and nodded, stating, "Alright, I'll leave it to you. Call me when you're done and I'll have Sabrina send the chopper back for you," climbing up the ladder as it took off.

Jason breathed a sigh of relief and said, "Man, facing Jeffrey would have been a lot more difficult!" Nathan looking at Tabitha suspiciously and saying, "That's why you sent him away, isn't it?" Tabitha sighing, "I don't know what you're talking about," pulling out a set of Pokeballs while adding, "I just wanted to do the job myself!"

However, Nathan was actually right on the money. Tabitha knew that if the teens were to take on Jeff, they'd go down easily. With that, the woman sent three Pokeballs forward, the balls coming open to reveal something rather shocking. One of her Pokemon was a Pignite, the pig wrestler with a very serious look in its eyes as Dana blinked, her eyes sparkling.

"Oh my god, you have a Pignite too!" she squealed as Tabitha blinked and said, "Oh yeah, she was my first Pokemon. Let me see yours," Tabitha nodding and releasing Pyro, the pig acting much more like a showoff than Tabitha's did.

"Wow, he looks quite impressive," Tabitha said with a smile as Dana blushed, giggling like a schoolgirl and replying, "Thank you so much!" Jason and Nathan staring in disbelief, Nathan muttering, "Hypocrite," as Jason remarked, "Shut up."

However, the two did need to focus as they had their own opponents. Standing before Nathan was a big orangutan with eyebrows shaped like long flames sticking up. Its body was also round, almost resembling a head in some ways, its fur was red and it had a huge, creepy smile, its upper lip pointy like his teeth. This was Darmanitan.

Jason's opponent was an anteater with grey skin on her head and legs. The rest of her body was red with yellow squiggles on her torso, kind of resembling a fire-proof suit in some ways. She also had a brown metal wrist guard on each hand, the guards having holes surrounding them. She also had a set of golden claws and a small tail with a hole on the end of it, pointed upward like a steam pipe. This was known as Heatmor.

"Well, this should be obvious," Jason said with a grin, sending Carmen into the battle. With her opponent being a fire type, this could very well result in victory for her.

Nathan thought of sending Toby to go up against Darmanitan, but started to have second thoughts. After all, Toby seemed to have a severe lack of confidence, and this opponent would be way too powerful for him to handle. Unfortunately, his other choices weren't that much better. Hanzo was disobedient and a bug type, so Darmanitan would have an easy time with him. Zelda, while more obedient, was a grass type. Sammy would have been pretty even with her being weak against fire attacks but Darmanitan being weak against ground type moves, but of course, the mole wasn't willing to listen to him.

Seeing his options, the boy let out a sigh and sent in Toby saying, "Come on, Tobias, let's see some results today," Toby looking at his opponent and trembling with fear, Nathan letting out a sigh and saying, "Please, Toby, forget about his size. You have a type advantage," Toby gulping and nodding.

Tabitha let out a sigh and said, "I'm sorry I have to do this, but I can't let you interfere with Sabrina's plans," the battle starting up with both Pignites going at it, locking arms. As Pyro seemed to be overpowering the female, said opponent proceeded to snort a thick cloud in his face, Pyro backing up and coughing before Pignite proceeded to send her palms hard into his face, Pyro replying with his own Arm Thrusts, soon matching blows with her again.

Meanwhile, Carmen managed to dodge Heatmor's various fury swipes, soon finding an opening and hitting her with a Water Gun. However, Heatmor glared and attempted to hit the monkey with Slash only for Carmen to leap back. But Carmen had unfortunately left herself open as Heatmor's wrist guards started to shoot flames, the anteater letting loose a stream of flames from her mouth known as Incinerate and hitting the monkey hard. Of course, this didn't do much as Heatmor proceeded to whip her tongue out, wrapping it around Carmen and squeezing tight.

Meanwhile, Toby was still scared as Nathan tried to keep calm. Right now, things weren't looking that good.


	16. Chapter 16

Pokemon Legacy

Note: And thus characters from Pokemon Quest finally start appearing.

While Toby trembled, trying to keep a look of confidence, Darmanitan wasted no time as his fist burst into flame, the orangutan sending it toward the tadpole. Toby quickly dodged this, his eyes wide open with terror as proceeded to shoots a stream of flames from his mouth, Toby leaping to the side as Nathan groaned, shaking his head. He feared this would happen.

However, this wasn't the worst of situations. So far, Toby had dodged both moves and they were fire type attacks. However, Nathan also took into account how much battle experience the orangutan must have had. For all he knew, these attacks could have had a large effect on Toby even if they only dealt half their regular damage to him.

Nathan's train of thought soon ended when Darmanitan curled up into a ball, rolling toward Toby as Nathan gulped, saying, "Dodge it, Toby, and then hit him with Bubble," not expecting the tadpole to use Bubble Beam after what happened last time.

Unfortunately, Toby was unable to dodge the Rollout as it struck him hard, but he did recover just in time to dodge a second one, Darmanitan regaining its usual form as Toby blew a set of bubbles at him, actually dealing a fairly descent amount of visible damage, Darmanitan closing his eyes and cringing. Sure, Bubble was one of the weakest water type attacks out there, but the opponent was still a fire type, so to him, it wasn't.

Meanwhile, the Pignites were still going at it with their Arm Thrusts, neither giving up. However, after a little while, Dana noticed red marks appearing on Pyro's arms while the female Pignite's remained the same orange colour. Seeing this, she knew she had to act fast as her Pignite was clearly being overpowered.

With that in mind, she shouted, "PYRO, AIM AN EMBER ATTACK AT HER FACE!" Pyro snorting flames into the female pig's eyes as she hollered out in pain, clutching onto the burning spot. Dana then let loose a series of other commands, Pyro whacking the distracted Pignite with his tail then curling up into a ball.

Tabitha had to admit that she was rather impressed by this strategy. She had never thought to use status enhancers in battle before. Despite her personality saying otherwise, she always thought of 'safety techniques' like those as a waste of time and effort.

All the while, Heatmor still had her skinny tongue wrapped around Carmen, this time moving it up to her neck as her face started turning green. Jason gritted his teeth and snapped, "Come on, Carmen! You can get out of this! Just hit her with Water Gun!" the Panpour's cheeks puffing up as she attempted to unleash the water.

Unfortunately, since her windpipe was being cut off, this was proving most difficult as she struggled to get the water up. After a few more seconds, she realized what she could do as she simply slowed down the process, sending less water through her throat and up to her mouth at a time, thus making the water intake small enough to bypass the tongue squeezing her jugular.

After 20 seconds, Jason started to really worry, not knowing about the monkey's strategy. But his fears soon left him as Carmen unleashed another Water Gun, hitting Heatmor had in the gut, the anteater letting go while Carmen breathed heavily, massaging her neck as Jason breathed a sigh of relief.

Unfortunately, things weren't looking up for Nathan anymore as Darmanitan grabbed onto Toby, lifting the Tympole up and ramming the creature into his head. This was a move known as Headbutt. Of course, a regular Headbutt would be a lot different, but seeing as the tadpole was rather small in comparison to the orangutan, let's just say the simian was willing to make an exception.

As Toby groaned in pain, Darmanitan lifted his fist up, Nathan knowing right off the bat this was Hammer Arm, remembering Conkeldurr using it a lot. With that in mind, he spat, "TOBIAS, ROLL TO THE SIDE!" Toby doing so as the fist landed hard against the ground, Nathan breathing heavily. If that had hit, Toby would be out like a light for sure.

However, the assault didn't end here as Darmanitan charged at the tadpole, his body catching fire. Toby attempted to dodge only for his tail to take in pain, the tail turning black from the terrible burn, crying out in pain. However, this move was known as Flare Blitz, meaning the orangutan also took in a bit of damage from it. Still, that wasn't enough to make up for the pain Toby was feeling right now, Nathan staring with wide eyes, praying that the Tympole would use Bubble Beam at some point.

Pyro and the female Pignite were once again trading Arm Thrusts, blocking each other each time and hitting the sides of their arms. However, now that Pyro had increased his defensive capabilities, he was having a much easier time as he eventually saw an opening, striking the female hard in the face, a bit of blood coming from her snout. He then proceeded to roll up into a ball, ramming himself hard into the female's chest, sending her back as she skidding across the ground. However, it looked as if the pig was about to fall off the edge of the cliff, Tabitha's eyes wide with terror when Dana spat, "PYRO, STOP!"

The male Pignite immediately halted his Rollout, backing up as the female Pignite breathed heavily, Tabitha doing the same as she stared at Dana saying, "You could have killed my Pignite..." Dana shaking her head and saying, "That would have been going too far. No matter what purpose a Pokemon is used for, I will never bring myself to kill one."

With that, Tabitha bowed in respect before having her Pignite shoot a steam of fire from her snout into Pyro's chest, sending him back towards where Dana was standing. This was known as Flamethrower.

Meanwhile, things were looking up for Jason as Carmen was biting hard into Heatmor's arm, the anteater wincing in pain. But after a while, she flung the monkey off before flames shot from all of the holes on her, including her tail. She then shot the flames above her head to form a sphere of the element before launching it forward in a stream of fire, the Panpour attempting to counter it with a Water Gun only for the flames to overpower the water, hitting the monkey hard. She had just been hit by Inferno, and incredibly powerful attack.

But as the monkey lay there twitching, Jason stared and said, "Come on, Carmen. It's just fire. That barely means a thing to you, right?"

After a few seconds, Carmen's fingers started to twitch, Tabitha staring at this with amazement, Heatmor also a bit scared now while the monkey slowly pushed herself up. She wasn't able to stand completely up, but she was at least able to bring her head high enough to aim a blast of water into Heatmor's pelvis. However, this wasn't any ordinary water as it was also Steaming. This was Scald, the only water type move that could inflict burns and deal descent damage to grass types.

It was also really powerful and as such, Heatmor passed out, her eyes closed. Unfortunately, the Inferno earlier had also given Carmen a really bad burn as she winced in pain, flames temporarily surrounding her. Luckily, this didn't cause her pass out, but there was a possibility it would soon, so Jason returned her and said, "Excellent job, girl."

Things were still not looking as well for Nathan as Darmanitan was ready to deliver one final blow, the tadpole trembling with fear. However, Nathan wouldn't stand for this as he spat, "COME ON, TOBIAS, STOP BEING A WIMP AND FIGHT!" Toby's eyes going wide with shock. This was the first time Nathan had ever used such a forceful tone with him. However, rather than bringing him to the verge of tears or anything, this actually motivated the tadpole as he let loose a Bubble Beam into the orangutan's face, Darmanitan grunting as he backed up a bit.

With that, a more serious look formed on Toby's face as his body started to stretch out, soon forming into more than just a head with a tail. Now he was actually quite tall and had a pair of feet along with found small light-blue spheres across his back and sides. Atop his head were four large round black and blue formations. Nathan pulled out his Pokedex, discovering that his Tympole had just become Palpitoad. Now he was also part ground type meaning Electric attacks couldn't harm him, but that hardly mattered for this battle. Still, Nathan was very happy.

However, Darmanitan refused to let this work to the toad's advantage as he sent a Fire Punch hard into his face. However, Toby only winced a little, not taking in too much from the attack as his body became rounder for a few seconds before the Palpitoad sent yet another Bubble Beam into the orangutan's face, Darmanitan finally down for the count.

Thus the two Pignites were left, both locking arms and seeing who could overpower the others. However, Dana saw a more fitting strategy as she grinned saying, "Pyro, release your hold and wrap yours arms around that Pignite's wrist!" the pig nodding and letting go, the female about to send her palms into the male's face only for him to do as Dana commanded, holding tightly onto the female's wrists, the pig squealing in pain.

"Alright, let's finish this!" Dana exclaimed as Tabitha's eyes went wide with shock, Pyro lifting the female up, leaning backwards and slamming her back hard against the mountaintop, using a move that shouldn't have been possible for a Pokemon as it was specifically a human tactic.

Dana grinned with pride as Jason asked, "Did you know he was gonna do that?" Dana nodding and saying, "Didn't know I was a wrestling fan, did you?" Nathan just as shocked to hear this himself.

However, Nathan then remembered something else as he placed a hand atop his new Palpitoad's head asking, "Toby, you remember who I am, right?" the toad nodding and nuzzling up against the boy's face, Nathan a little disturbed by his scaly and oily body up against his but thought nothing of it, just glad to know that Toby didn't become like Sammy right now.

Tabitha simply clapped her hands, a big smile on her face as she said, "Great job, you three. You really impressed me," as she pulled out three gym badges, Dana staring and asking, "Are you the Trent Town Gym Leader?" Tabitha nodding and replying, "Yes, I am..." Nathan sighing, "Great, first it's Eric, now it's this one..."

"I didn't introduce myself, did I?" the woman asked, handing Dana a badge, Jason and Nathan shaking their heads, signalling that they weren't aiming for the Pokemon challenge as the woman stated, "My name's Tabitha. Pleased to meet you all."

After the three introduced themselves, they were soon relieved to hear that Tabitha, unlike Eric, was at least convinced that Nathan's words about Team Shadow's true intentions were correct. However, she then revealed that she was, in fact, going to return to the Team Shadow headquarters.

"But why!" Jason spat, "Why would you work for a criminal organization now knowing their intentions?" Tabitha chuckling and replying, "That is certainly a valid question, and trust me, I'm only going there to spy on them. See, I have communication with all of the gym leaders and Professor Yae, so if I see anything out of the ordinary, I'll send a message to them."

"But what about your gym?" Dana asked as Tabitha giggled and replied, "It's okay. My younger sister's substituting for me. Besides, this is the fate of the world we're talking about. I'd love to help as much as I can."

With that, Tabitha returned her Pokemon and called up Jeff, telling the man to send the helicopter to pick her up, Jeff thrilled to hear that she was joining Team Shadow for good at least to the best of his knowledge. The woman then gave the teens one final bow of respect before telling them to leave, the trio doing so. At least unlike with Eric, this hadn't been a wasted effort, and as such, the three felt rather good right now.

All the while, Jack was elsewhere within the area fighting a light-brown crocodile known as Sandile, Dewott making quick work of him with her Water Gun as Jack captured it saying, "Oh yeah, this one looks awesome!" then smiled at Dewott and said, "I have to admit, now that you're a Dewott, you're actually presentable. I mean, sure, you're not exactly cool, but you're not embarrassing anymore either."

Suddenly, he heard big footsteps behind him as he turned and noticed a large grey creature, kind of like a buff mountain goat. Its skin was grey and it had a white underbelly with a cover of black lines going across the front. It also had orange gems attached to its shoulders and what looked like a black crown with horns sticking out atop its head.

However, just by looking at it, he could tell this thing was similar to another goat he'd fought in a meadow. He could just tell this creature would wipe the floor with his Pokemon if he even attempted to fight it. As such, he slowly walked away, not giving the creature a second glance.

The rest of the day went fine as Nathan and his friends arrived in Trent Town, a town where firewood was the staple item for sale, and decided to rest there. Jack hadn't quite arrived there yet and had decided to sleep under the stars.

All the while, Tabitha had gotten to know the base she was pretending to work at now as she looked around, noticing the room where Victini was kept in, noticing the rather strong and clear material before asking, "Um... Miss Sabrina, what is that made out of? It looks kind of like glass but stronger..." Sabrina smiling and saying, "You have a good eye, Tabitha. You're right, it's not made of glass. It's made from extract of the Unova Core."

"You mean the core that was placed deep inside a cave by elder Pokemon so the legends couldn't be exposed to it?" Tabitha asked as Sabrina nodded and replied, "It's a shame they didn't leave someone behind to guard it because they did a terrible job hiding the thing. I barely had to do anything to track it down. I'm amazed no one else has found its hiding place."

She then pointed at Victini and said, "Though I can see why they tried to hide it. Victini there can't even try to get out if it wanted to," Tabitha putting on a concerned look as she looked at the small creature, the legend barely conscious enough to look back at her, putting on a weak smile as it could sense the goodness in her heart.

With that, Sabrina showed Tabitha the rest of the building and called it a night, feeling tired as it was almost midnight. However, when Tabitha entered the room assigned to her, she immediately pulled out a pocket phone and dialled a few numbers.

Soon, Yae appeared in an image projecting from it and yawned, groaning, "Oh, come on, two nights in a row? Can't a woman get some shuteye?" then noticed Tabitha on the other line, blinking and asking, "What's up, Tabitha..." noticing the grey walls behind the woman and adding, "Where are you?"

"I'm working undercover as a Team Shadow agent," Tabitha said, "They've already gotten Jeffrey, Eric and Rachel on their side. They actually have them convinced that what they're doing is good. I figured I could play along and get some dirt on them, if you know what I mean."

Yae smiled and said, "Well, smart thinking," then let out a sigh, adding, "Though I must say, I'm very disappointed in the others."

Tabitha then proceeded to explain about Team Shadow having the legendary Victini in their clutches and how they had extract of the Unova Core, a special material that sapped the power out of only the world's most powerful Pokemon, the legends.

"Oh, dear god," Yae said, her eyes wide open before the professor added, "Alright, tell the others gym leaders right now. I'll send a message to Professor Moro."

"You mean the professor who works in the Celtia Region?" Tabitha replied as Yae nodded and said, "Trust me, he knows a certain group of young adults who can help us with our problem. If they truly have Victini, then it's almost time for desperate measures."

With that, Tabitha hung up and started calling the others while Yae sent in a call of her own, a young man hearing the phone shouting, "INCOMING CALL!" before an image of a bomb dropping on a house came up on the screen, the man groaning and rubbing his face, groaning, "Why did I choose that as my ring?" a young woman next to him still sleeping as he sighed, "Sometimes I wish I was more like you, Boredom," getting up and walking over to the phone and pressing the button, seeing Yae and asking, "What's the emergency?" Yae blinking and asking, "Are you saying that just because I'm calling you, it must be an emergency, Moro?"

Moro blinked and remarked, "I'm not ready for this game, okay? Why did you call me?" Yae sticking out her tongue saying, "If I weren't as tired as you right now, I'd call you a killjoy," Moro rolling his eyes and saying, "That's Nurse Boredom's job," walking away from the screen and pointing at his beloved wife still sleeping in bed.

Yae proceeded to explain the whole situation with Team Shadow to Moro as his eyes went wide, the man asking, "They have Victini and core extract? Please tell me this is a joke!" Yae shaking her head and replying, "It's true," as Moro groaned and said, "Alright, I'll call up Jacob and Izy when they're available. Who knows? I may even get Anna," Yae replying, "You do that," before hanging up, Moro sighing, "Jacob's not gonna be happy."


	17. Chapter 17

Pokemon Legacy

Note: During Nathan's story, you'll notice I stop using quotation marks after the first couple of paragraphs. This is because it's now him narrating an entire story, so I figured it would be smarter to make it part of the narration as opposed to a quote. Also, Dancing in the Shower is a reference to Singin in the Rain.

The following morning, Professor Moro awoke and was just about to call Jacob when he remembered something, his eyes going wide as his hand started to shake. He couldn't do it, he just couldn't call Jacob, not yet. It was too early... but why?

After that, he called up Yae to tell her how he'd failed quite possibly the simplest of tasks due to circumstance, Yae a lot more cheery as this was, in fact, the morning and said, "Good morning, Moro. How did it go?" Moro letting out a sigh and saying, "Look, I can't call Jacob right now... I just realized that."

Yae blinked, one of her eyes twitching as she asked, "Are you sure?" Moro sighing, "Positive. With circumstances as they are, the last thing he and Izy should be doing is helping us," all going silent for a few seconds before Yae asked, "What kind of circumstances?"

"Well, see..." Moro said with a nervous laugh, "Izy has been suspecting for almost nine months," Yae's eyes going wide as Moro added, "Yeah, if she goes into battle now, her water will probably break in the middle of combat. It's not worth it. Besides, we still have time before Team Shadow does anything completely terrible, right?"

Yae simply nodded, her eyes still wide open as she understood entirely, hanging up. Sure, she'd never had a child, but she knew what it was like for a woman in labour. An intense battle was the last thing Izy needed right now and she really needed both her and Jacob for this job. And besides, Moro was right. It wasn't as if Team Shadow was on the verge of finding the legendary Dragons and controlling them.

Meanwhile, Nathan and the others were going along their way as usual when Nathan noticed something, his eyes sparkling when he gazed upon it. The creature was a zebra with black skin and white stripes shaped a little bit like lightning bolts, its hair definitely resembling such a thing. This was a Blitzle.

As such, he turned to the others and said, "Hey, if you don't mind, I'm gonna try to catch that," Dana squealing, "Oh my god, that Pokemon is so cute! I wish I'd seen it first!" Jason sighing and saying, "You should just stick to training monkeys like me. There's less of them to worry about."

While the Blitzle munched on some grass, Nathan took a deep breath and thought, 'Come on, Sammy. Please, for the love of God, help me...' the boy sending her ball forward as the Excadrill emerged, Blitzle turning to face her with terror in its eyes. It knew what was going on and wasn't prepared.

But after a few seconds, the Blitzle realized it was fine when Sammy got up, pressed the button on her Pokeball and returned herself, Nathan groaning and saying, "Well, I guess my alternatives aren't half-bad," sending in Zelda as she was strong again electric types. Sure, Toby was immune to them, but he knew that battle would only take longer.

Seeing that her opponent wasn't quite as strong, Blitzle growled and proceeded to charge toward the snake, ramming hard into her before she could respond, the Snivy wincing in pain before the zebra came in for more, delivering another Quick Attack. Zelda soon took in five more blows as Nathan realized the perfect strategy before shouting a command, Zelda nodding before raising her hands and releasing a pair of vines. With that, she spun around in a circle, her whips getting longer by the second before one of them rammed into Blitzle, putting a red mark on its face before the other vine hit the creature as well.

Dana and Jason cheered and clapped as the zebra growled, sparks coming from its head as it sent a wave of electricity from the bolt formation atop is mane. Zelda tried to dodge this only for it to catch her tail, said tail falling to the ground as the snake was unable to move it, wondering what to do about this while the Blitzle started to charge up its electricity with a move simple known as Charge, which rose special defense, a trait meant to soften the blow from attacks that didn't involve the body being used.

After a few seconds, Nathan sighed, "Zelda, you can still attack it without having to run," Zelda nodding before unleashing her whips again. Unfortunately, this realization was too late as the Blitzle let out a battle cry, its body soon engulfed in flames, Dana staring in confusion as Nathan whistled, "Was not expecting it to know that attack yet."

With that, Zelda had to retract her vines as the flames had sent a flame up to her body, the Blitzle charging into her and causing even more pain, the snake taking in many burns as. This was known as Flame Charge, and not only was it fairly powerful, it also rose the speed of whoever hit an opponent with it.

The Snivy was barely able to move after that as Nathan stared with concern, sighing, "Maybe Toby should do this," pulling out Zelda's Pokeball when Dana exclaimed, "Wait, Nathan, look!" Nathan blinking and looking at Zelda, his eyes going wide in response to what happened next.

The Snivy's body started to get longer her face becoming a bit pointier as well. A bit of skin on the back of her head even looked like it was peeling a bit as it now stuck up, kind of like a cowlick. Her yellow collar made of pedals was now longer and going down her front her leaf hands and feet also longer as two leaves appeared on her tail.

Seeing this, Nathan's eyes sparkled even brighter, a big smile forming on his face as he said, "Zelda... you've become a Servine," the snake smiling elegantly, Jason staring and asking, "Where's the improvement? I think she looked prettier before," Dana remarking, "She does at least look less like a, ahem, 'stoner' now, right?" Jason shrugging before replying, "I guess."

With that, the snake held up her arms as seeds flew out, whipping out vines and latching themselves to Blitzle. The Zebra thought nothing of this and unleashed another Quick Attack only to notice its energy depleting, wincing as its life force travelled into the Servine.

With that, Zelda proceeded to spin her body as a gust of wind built up, leaves coming from her and into the twister as she proceeded to launch it forward, Blitzle unable to respond as it was caught up in the whirlwind, cuts going all over its body as it started to bleeding all over. After the attack subsided, Blitzle was barely able to stand as Nathan sent a Pokeball at it, the ball consuming it and rotating for a few seconds before the light disappeared, Dana and Jason clapping.

Nathan then held up the ball and let Blitzle out, the zebra looking at him with anger as the boy knelt down and said, "It's okay," petting the zebra's head as the Blitzle calmed down, wagging its tail and licking the boy's face. Dana smiled widely at this, squealing, "Oh my god, that's so cute!" Jason rolling his eyes and nodding.

With that, he thought of a name before saying, "I'm gonna call you Sparkster," the Blitzle sticking out his tongue and shaking his head, Jason replying, "No offence man, but that sounds like you stole it from something," Nathan blinking before saying, "Well then, how about Wilbur?" Blitzle thinking about that and nodding in approval.

And so the group continued their travels for the rest of the day, eventually stopping for dinner as Jason started work on something that smelled better than what he usually pumped out. And all things considered, that was saying a lot.

As the group waited for their food, the Pokemon minus drooling while watching Jason minus Hanzo, who didn't care, and Sammy who was still in her Pokeball. During this time, Nathan looked up at the sky, which was getting dark rather early this evening. He didn't mind. The dark sky was nice to look at. However, rather than looking at the sky, Dana was more intent on Nathan right now. She just found everything about him so fascinating.

After a few seconds, Nathan glanced at the girl and said, "I know you want to ask me something," Dana blinking and about to object when the boy added, "I can see it in your eyes. Just ask, okay?"

"But it's kind of personal and involves you," Dana replied as Nathan sighed, "It's okay. I won't hold it against you," Dana hesitating as Nathan replied, "Please, I know I snapped at your bringing up personal matters before, but I wasn't sure if I could completely trust you with such knowledge, okay? Now I can."

Dana then nodded and proceeded to ask, "Nathan, why did you join Team Shadow? I just can't imagine someone as nice and caring as you being a part of something so evil," Nathan nodding and turning to the girl before saying, "Listen close and listen well, a story I will tell. It's a tale about pain and strife, when my life went to Hell."

Dana looked with much curiosity, her hands firmly against the ground as Jason listened in a bit on the conversation while still focusing on his food, Nathan adding, "It's not the best of memories, to that I must confess. It created a number of feelings that I'd rather suppress."

I lived on my mountain top, happy as could be. The only people up there were my mom and me. My dad had died from unknown reasons when I was only three. After that, we buried him in front of an old tree.

We let life go on as we knew he would want us to be happy. After all, he would be sad if our life had become crappy. But after a few years, my mom got very sick. The doctor said he couldn't find just what made her tick. But there was one thing he knew, the date of her demise. 'She only has 2 months,' he said, 'until the day she dies.'

A month and a half later, there came a knocking on the door. I wondered who it was and what he had come for. But that he had been a she, a woman with black hair. She had a lovely face and seemed rather fair.

She smiled at me so pure, it made me feel good, and so I let her in and offered her some food. She then told me her reason for coming to my home. It turned out she had a purpose other than to roam.

'I know your mother's sick,' she said, 'but I have just the thing. An antidote for what she has is the very thing I bring.'

She then pulled out a vial, it looked so shiny and nice, then added with a smile, 'Of course, it comes with a price.'

I hesitated there, a little suspicious of her. But what choice did I have? I had to save my mother. As such, I asked her what it was she wanted me to do. She introduced herself as Sabrina and gave me details too.

'I'm the leader of Team Shadow,' she said, 'an important team, you'll see. My newest member is what I feel you deserve to be. Your young and kind and caring, and I see talent in you. To join my organization is all that you must do.'

I was still hesitant at first, but I had to save my mother. After all, this was the only solution. There wasn't any other. And so I took the offer, Sabrina used the antidote, and before I left I wrote my grieving mother a quick note.

Along the way, Sabrina caught me a Drilbur that I liked. I named her Sammy then and there, it was true friendship upon sight. She figured I would need her to assist me while I was there. I wasn't quite sure what she meant but question it I wouldn't dare.

My room mate was a boy named Jack, he seemed rather cold. But underneath that was a soldier proud and brave and bold. I still didn't like him, though. I never thought of him as a friend, especially after finding out what part of the bargain was our end.

For half a year, I worked and worked, performing heinous tasks. We robbed banks, schools and churches and even launched sneak attacks. But I went through it all without feeling much regret. After all, I gave my word, I owed Sabrina this great debt.

"Wow, you're a very loyal person to have put up with that," Dana replied, "If I was under such circumstances, I probably would have done the same. But if you owed Sabrina your life, why did you escape."

"Well," Nathan replied, "There was a Pidove that used to fly by our house that my mother really adored. It seemed one day she must have written it a note to send to me. I assume so because one day it delivered me that note. As soon as I saw what it said, I realized Team Shadow was where I shouldn't be."

It seemed that the cure was a hoax, nothing but a lie. Just a day away from when mom wrote that note, she knew that she would die. Feeling betrayed and saddened, I couldn't stay anymore. So I packed Sammy's ball and without saying a word, I broke right out that door.

With that, Nathan took a deep breath and said, "After that, I ran as far away as I could, discovered Groerberg and figured it was a nice place. But let's just say my time working for Team Shadow and Sabrina's betrayal made me more bitter towards society."

"What do you mean?" Dana replied as Nathan sighed, "I never attempted to make friends with anyone. As you can see, I don't show my true feelings that often. I guess Sabrina just made me distrust most people until you came along. I felt rather lucky that Sammy was still on my side."

Jason pretended he hadn't heard that, putting the finishing touches on their dinner as Dana let down light tears saying, "I'm so sorry..." Nathan sighing, "What are you apologizing for? It's not your fault and it's not like you could have done anything. If anything, it's my fault for lacking judgement."

Dana then patted Nathan on the shoulder, giving the boy a compassionate smile as Nathan smiled lightly, Jason signalling that dinner was ready. During dinner, Sammy scarfed down her meal in seconds as was expected at this point while Nathan pulled out a vial of worms, figuring this might help.

"Hey, Sammy, you want some dessert?" Nathan asked, holding up the vial as Sammy stared at it, her eyes going wide briefly, the others watching with interest. Was this going to rekindle their friendship?

Unfortunately, this seemed out of the question as Sammy lifting the vial up between two of her claws and threw it against the ground, shattering it as the worms lay there, Nathan's eyes going wide briefly before he sighed, returning the mole. He decided not to make too big a deal out of this. After all, Jason's food was better for her health and Yae had assured him that things would turn out better eventually.

Meanwhile, Queen was inspecting Dana's food as she giggled, saying, "Come on, Queen, Jason cooked it. There's no way it's gonna be poisoned," the pointing at the spider's plate adding, "Eat your own food. That's an order," the Joltik giving an army salute before diving into her meal, Dana rolling her eyes.

She then looked at Zelda and Toby before folding her arms, sticking her tongue out and saying, "I'm jealous. Three of your Pokemon have evolved within the last few days and only one of mine has," Nathan laughing and saying, "Well, only two of them are still loyal," as Jason sighed, "Hey, Dana, you're doing better than me. I'm not sure when my Pokemon will evolve."

Nathan and Dana looked at one-another, neither willing to tell him that his monkeys needed certain stones to evolve. These stones represented an element each. Mighty required a leaf stone, which had a leaf engraved on it while Carmen needed a water stone, which had a picture of a water droplet on it.

After dinner, things took a rather odd turn as it started to rain, and rather hard at that. Nathan kept on a neutral expression before uttering, "I'm not a fan of rain," Dana groaning, "I don't really care for it either."

Jason simply laughed while dancing around with Mighty and Carmen asking, "What are you guys talking about? Rain is awesome!" then started to twirl while singing, "I'm dancing in the shower, just dancing in the shower..."

Nathan rolled his eyes before noticing a strange building, a temple to be exact. It looked suspicious, but right now, what choice did they have? As such, he signalled the others to follow as he headed toward the temple, entering it as everyone now had shelter. However, the second they entered, all three felt an ominous feeling, but figured it was nothing as they went further in, hoping to find a good sleeping spot.


	18. Chapter 18

Pokemon Legacy

Nathan, Dana and Jason slowly made their way down the halls, Jason getting this ominous feeling as he started fidgeting. He then felt the back of his hand press up against something as he freaked out, Dana's eyes going wide as she glared at him snapping, "Did you just touch my butt!" Jason blinking and asking, "Did I?" Dana nodding and remarking, "You totally did," Jason sighing, "Sorry about that... I'm just a little jumpy right now."

Dana's look of annoyance turned to one of sympathy as she patted the boy on the shoulder, this reassuring Jason as he breathed a sigh of relief, the group continuing their trek. Unfortunately, the torches lighting the area seemed to lessening in number every so often as the temple got darker and darker until the group reached one last room with barely any light at all.

"Well, it's an open space," Nathan said, "Let's sleep here tonight," while Jason still trembled, wondering if sleeping in a temple was really such a great idea.

But just as the group was about to do just that, torches lit up as if by magic all around the room, everyone soon noticing three Sarcophagi all around the room, each yellow with a head resembling that of a pharaoh with a dark face, razor sharp teeth and blood red eyes. Dana's eyes were wide with fear as she pulled out her Pokedex, realizing that these were known as Cofagrigus.

"Please forgive us!" Jason spat, falling to his hands and knees and bowing while adding, "We didn't know this was your home!"

However, the coffins didn't seem to care as they sprouted ghostly arms from their lid-lines. But before they could do anything else Nathan and Dana immediately sent in Pyro and Zelda, Jason gulping before sending in Mighty and Carmen.

Mighty and Zelda each used Vine Whip on one of the Cofagrigi, smacking them hard in the faces while Carmen sent a fierce water gun into the face of the one Mighty had struck. Pyro also contributed by using Ember on one as Nathan, Dana and Jason felt a lot more confident.

However, just as quickly as their moment of triumph had started, it soon ended when Pyro's opponent reached out one of its arms, latching onto the pig and holding him up as if to taunt the others. Zelda opponent eventually sent an array of small flames known as Will-o-Wisp onto the Vine Whip, the fire travelling to Zelda and causing her to burn, thus forcing her to give her attack a rest while the coffin proceeded to grab her, sticking its tongue out. Let's just say Carmen and Mighty weren't having it much better as they were soon caught too.

"Oh, sure, I fail within seconds, why not?" Jason grumbled as Nathan sighed, "Now's not the time to put yourself down. We have to save our partners," before sending in all four of his remaining Pokemon, Sammy looking at the coffins and shrugging before going to sleep, Nathan pointing with disbelief in his eyes but simply slapped his forehead, figuring she wasn't going to help.

Unfortunately, things still weren't looking particularly good as despite their best efforts, the other Pokemon were also caught rather easily. Hanzo tried his best to roll out of the grip of the Cofagrigus that trapped him but to no avail, Electra frightened out of her mind.

"What are we gonna do!" Dana spat as Nathan turned to Sammy and pointed shouting, "Sammy, I know you don't consider me your friend anymore, but at least try to dig up your common sense! Your other friends are in trouble! Don't you care?" the mole simply shrugging as if it meant nothing.

Nathan was tempted to walk over and strike the mole when he noticed the last Cofagrigus latch its hands onto both Dana and Jason, its smile widening as Dana screamed in terror, Jason struggling to get free. Nathan then proceeded to run at the coffins, leaping onto the one with his Pokemon and latching onto its head, punching it in the face shouting, "Can't fight back now that your hands are full, eh!"

The coffin's answer to this was simply hurling Wilbur into a corner. Since he'd been bested in battle earlier, he wasn't in the best of strength, so this was more than enough to knock him out as the ghost hand grabbed Nathan.

Sammy's eyes went wide as the mole looked at this scene, noticing her master and best friend being held by this horrible creature. To make matters worse, all three humans were being held toward each coffin's face, the coffins opening their mouths as if they were going to eat the humans.

"I DON'T WANNA BE A SNACK!" Dana cried as Jason groaned, "I don't think we have much of a choice!" Nathan also unable to keep his cool as he breathed heavily.

This did it. This pushed Sammy off the deep end as she glared, her eyes briefly turning red as she quickly rubbed her claws together before turning her claws metal, rushing at the one holding Nathan and striking it hard in its torso. Despite the hard material, the Cofagrigus cried out in pain before dropping Nathan and his Pokemon, Sammy then summoning a group of rocks, unleashing Rock slide, hurling the stones at the other two, some rocks hitting them between the eyes as they winced, dropping their prisoners as well.

"Sammy, you're back..." Nathan said, his eyes sparkling as a big smile, the rarest of expressions for him, formed on his face. Sammy then smiled and gave the boy thumbs up before signalling everyone to return their Pokemon, Nathan getting the message right away.

The other two followed when they saw Nathan do it as Sammy revealed her reason for wanting the other Pokemon out of this. As the coffins sent their ghostly hands toward her, she rose her foot and slammed it hard against the ground, causing it to rumble as the coffins took in the Earthquake the room starting to collapse as the group escaped.

Dana stayed back for a few seconds longer than the others for reasons unknown but managed to evacuate just in time to escape the secluded room, Jason breathing heavily and asking, "All in favour of sleeping out in the rain?" both raising their hands as Nathan smiled at Sammy, the mole giving him a hug.

However, the trio decided not to sleep in the rain but rather by the entrance where nothing could harm them. Luckily, this proved good enough as soon morning came, the group waking up and feeling rejuvenated.

While outside, Jason started making breakfast and asked, "Hey, Dana, why'd you wait longer than us before leaving the room while it was collapsing and could have potentially killed you?" Nathan sighing, "Was that wording supposed to be ironic?" Dana grinning and saying, "Oh, I just needed to get something out of the way first," summoning a familiar-looking creature from a Pokeball as the others stared.

"Dude, you caught one of those monsters?" Jason asked, pointing at the sarcophagus standing before him, Dana nodding and saying, "I could tell by the look in his eyes he was just following the crowd to fit in. I don't think he really wanted to torment us," then added, "Isn't that right, King?" the coffin smiling and nodding as Nathan remarked, "I thought you only caught cute Pokemon."

"But he is cute," Dana replied, pointing at the coffin's face and saying in a baby-like tone, "Look at that. Isn't he sweet?" Nathan and Jason staring at the girl as if she was crazy, Dana tickling the coffin's chin as he proceeded to lick her face.

"Aw, he loves his Mommy," Dana said sweetly as Jason rolled his eyes and remarked, "He's probably taste-testing you right now," more freaked out by Dana's behaviour than the living sarcophagus.

Nathan didn't really care about this right now. At least Dana seemed right about her judgement towards this one. Besides, Nathan finally had his best friend back, and that was nothing to scoff at.

Meanwhile, back at the Groerberg Pokemon Lab, Yae was going about her usual duties when her screen phone started ringing, the woman sighing, "Well, at least it's not late at night again," answering and seeing Tabitha on the other line saying, "Oh, hey Tabby, what's up?"

The fire gym leader let out a sigh and replied, "You know how I was supposed to call every gym leader in the region and warn them?" Yae nodding and signalling the girl to go on as she added, "Well, I wasn't able to get a hold of Max because he doesn't have a pocket phone and he was out of town when I called him. As it just so happens, he was also manipulated by Team Shadow and has just recently joined them."

"And he's the third-best trainer out of all of you," Yae replied with a look of concern before adding, "On the plus side, we do have more gym leaders on our team than against us. Speaking of which, are there any other Elite Four members among them?"

Tabitha let out a sigh and explained, "As it just so happens, every member of the Elite Four is a Team Shadow agent. So yes, that means Melissa and Benjamin work for them too," Yae nodding before sighing, "Alright, this is certainly complicated."

During this time, Jack had just finished his gym battle with Tabitha's sister, Marcy and receiving the Volcano badge. To make things even better for him, his Pawniard had evolved into a tall knight-like being with a golden axe head on top of his war helmet, a longer torso and white gloves with blades attached called Bisharp.

As if that wasn't good enough, during this battle, his Axew had also evolved. Now he was slightly taller and had a black lower body with red spots on his belly. He also had red hands and claws on his feet along with a red tip on the end of his tail. His fangs were also bigger, almost looking like airplane wings as he had become Fraxure.

"I have to say, today is certainly a good day for me, Dewott," Jack said with a grin, attaching his new badge to his pants while entering the Pokemon Center, the otter no longer clinging to Jack's leg now that he knew he'd been accepted as a true ally.

During this time, in a cold, Winter climate, a group of Team Shadow agents dressed in coats were looking around a cave. With them were two particular people. One was a young man with brown hair that went to his shoulders, a mellow look on his face and despite the cold weather, he was dressed in a sleeveless top and jean-shorts.

A young woman with pink hair and street clothes underneath her Winter coat turned to look at the man and sighed, "Max, why are you not freezing your butt off?" the man, Max replying, "I've grown used to all kinds of weather over the years, Melissa, my man," the woman blinking and refusing to snap at him for just calling her a man, knowing that was just his way of speaking as he continued, "Besides, I used to be a nudist," Melissa's eyes going wide.

With that, the group soon came across a large wall of ice with what looked like a white sphere behind it, one of the agents saying, "Hey, we found it," Max nodding and saying, "Cool. Let's get it out," before sending in a Pokeball, a metal disc with spikes coming out of it and green vines with spiked domes attached coming out of its head. This metallic creature was known as Ferrothorn.

He then sent in a deer with dark brown fur, white fur on its underbelly and ankles and flowers growing on its antlers. This was known as Sawsbuck. Since the surroundings were Winter, though, the deer immediately changed its form, now with a snow-white tuft of fur around its neck, bigger ankle fur and snow-white antlers, the flowers vanishing.

Finally, he sent in what looked like a cactus with two cacti coming out of its head resembling ears, flowers on the ends of them. It also had a horn atop its head. This was known as Maractus.

"Alright, dudes and dudette," Max said, pointing at Maractus to imply that it was the only female in the group and added, "Crack open this wall for us."

With that, Maractus struck the ice wall with a bunch of hard whacks with her arms referred to as Needle Arm. Ferrothorn spun around, the spikes over its head sticking outward as he rammed them into the ice, using Metal Claw. Sawsbuck also contributed by ramming his horns into the ice, using Megahorn.

All of these attacks combined were enough to form cracks on the ice wall, Melissa whistling, rather impressed by this as the ice came open. Melissa then walked over to the orb and snatched it, looking at it with a confused look.

"How is this thing connected to Reshiram?" Melissa asked as Max looked it over, shrugging his shoulders and replying, "I don't know, but you have to admit, it's pretty damn cool," Melissa sighing, remembering that this was just how he talked most of the time.

Still, what was up with these orbs? First there was that black one supposedly related to a Pokemon called Zekrom then there was this white one that was rumoured to be connected to Reshiram. What did it all mean? They didn't seem to have much significance nor did they do anything after being released from their 'containers'. Either way, the Team Shadow agents would be getting a lot of money for this find.

Meanwhile, Nathan and his friends were now just about to reach the next town, Hogalberg when Jason noticed something in the corner of his eye. He turned and noticed a monkey with red fur and a formation similar to a flame emblem atop its head. With that, he grinned as Nathan and Dana knew exactly what was going on. This was the last of the three monkeys in the region, Pansear, and Jason wanted it to complete his collection.

With that, the boy pulled out Carmen's Pokeball, sending her in as she looked at the fire monkey, Pansear looking up with a glare of annoyance, letting out a sigh and sending a stream of fire into Jason's face. The boy coughed up a bit of smoke before saying, "Well, I do say, that was rather rude," holding his fingers up in a formation that implied holding a teacup, Nathan and Dana staring as the boy realized what he was doing and regained composure.

"HIT HIM WITH WATER GUN!" the boy spat as Carmen fired a stream of water at the monkey, Pansear easily leaping over it, his look of annoyance still on his face as he proceeded to open his mouth, releasing a big bursting flame simply called Flame Burst, hitting the water monkey hard. Of course, this didn't do a whole lot to Carmen, her being a water type and all, but the Pansear wasn't willing to let this get him down as he pounced on Carmen, licking her face.

Luckily, this failed to paralyze the water monkey as she scratched his, licking him back and actually succeeding where he failed. She then leaped back and unleashed Scald, sending the fire monkey flying into a tree.

That was that. The Pansear was unable to move any further as Jason hurled a Pokeball at him, capturing him right then and there, Dana and Nathan clapping as Dana said, "That was surprisingly easy for him," Nathan nodding and replying, "Don't forget, his Pokemon know more and stronger techniques now."

"My god..." Jason said, holding all three Pokeballs and said, "I have all three elemental monkeys..." his eyes sparkling as he said, "My life is now complete."

With that, he sent in Pansear saying, "From now on, your name is Steve," the Pansear rolling his eyes before Jason sent in Mighty, he and Carmen joining him in a dance as he sang, "I have won this battle and I'm feeling strong! I truly believe that I can do no wrong!" Nathan and Dana face palming and shaking their heads as Jason held Pansear up, adding, "There's no doubt that I'm going places now! I don't know how I'll get there, but I will somehow!"

With that, Carmen shot a stream of water into the air as Jason leaped atop it, standing on one foot and posing while the Pansear now referred to as Steve simply slapped his hand over his face, an embarrassed look taking over. Had he really just let this idiot catch him? He couldn't face anyone knowing this.

After that, the trio headed into the Hogalberg, a town located next to a beach. Seeing this, Dana's eyes sparkled as she squealed, "Let's go swimming after my gym battle!" Nathan shrugging and nodding before saying, "It's not like we haven't taken a detour in every other town up to this point."

With that, the group entered the Pokemon Center, walking over to the counter as Dana said, "Uh... hey, we need our Pokemon healed," the nurse currently in the middle of something else as she looked up and said, "I'll be with you in a second," the group blinking as Jason nodded his head, saying, "Ah, this is Nurse Busy."

After waiting for five minutes, the nurse finally took their Pokemon into the back to have them healed, Dana rather worried about her. Did this nurse really take no time off from working? Either way, she had a gym battle to worry about, so she couldn't dwell on this all day.


	19. Chapter 19

Pokemon Legacy

Dana stood in front of the gym, taking a deep breath as she said, "Alright, I can do this," the others entering with her. Upon entering, they noticed this entire gym was covered in machine makings. The walls were made from spinning gears and bits of metal and the floor was made entirely out of monkey wrenches and screws combined together. Surprisingly, it wasn't unpleasant to walk on.

After a while, the group ended up in a big room where huge spinning gears attached to metal poles rose up out of the ground. Nathan looked around and felt this may be a little over-elaborate but also tried to figure out what the theme for this gym was.

At that moment, a young woman with short black hair with yellow streaks wearing a short tube top and a pair of legless shorts entered the room holding a wrench and said, "Oh, hey there, you like the recent instalments I made to the gym?" pointing at the gears as Dana's eyes sparkled, the girl saying, "Yeah. They're really cool," the woman grinning and saying, "I'm gonna like you."

She then shook Dana's hand and said, "Anyway, my name's Chelsea," then looking at all three asked, "Now who's facing me in a gym battle today?"

Dana rose her hand as Chelsea stared wide-eyed, her jaw dropped as she exclaimed, "No way! Not only are you already awesome company, but you're my opponent! It must be an early Christmas this year!"

"This one's a little over-eccentric," Jason whispered, Nathan whispering back, "No kidding."

With that, Chelsea grinned and pressed a button, the risen gears sinking into the floor as Dana watched with curiosity, the gym leader then pulling out a Pokeball and shouting, "GIVE HER A GOOD WARM-UP, DURANT!" hurling the ball into the fight area as an ant made entirely out of metal with feelers similar to giant cutters emerged, taking form.

"Okay, the theme is steel types," Nathan replied, then smiled lightly before adding, "Hopefully, Dana realizes she's got this in the bag," Jason remarking, "How? Steel types have incredible defensive stats," Nathan sighing, "Yes, but what melts metal?"

However, Dana didn't so much know of that, but she did know that hard creatures were weak against fighting type attacks as she sent in Pyro, the pig flexing as Chelsea whistled, rather impressed by this. However, Durant, being part bug type, wasn't weak against fighting type moves like other steel types, but it still took in descent damage from them.

"START THINGS UP WITH ROLLOUT TO DISTRACT HIM!" Dana shouted as the Pignite curled up into a ball rolling his body hard into the ant and sending the metal bug flying a bit into the air, Dana proceeding to give another command as Pyro uncurled himself, ramming his palm hard into the creature's chest, Nathan sighing, "Not the best she could have done, but not bad."

However, this blow to the gut didn't seem to do much to Durant as he opened up his massive jaws, planting them hard into the pig's wrist. Pyro cried out in pain, attempting to shake the ant off when he stepped onto one of the big gears. All but Chelsea watched with shock as the gear rose up, Pyro now standing three feet off the ground.

Seeing this, the metal ant released its Crunch Attack and proceeded to use Iron Head, ramming his skull hard into the pig's forehead. Pyro's eyes started to swirl as he struggled to stay on the gear but ended up losing his balance and falling hard against the ground.

Seeing this, Dana pulled out his Pokeball and returned him, breathing heavily and saying, "Alright, I'll save you for later," grimacing as she then proceeded to summon Electra, the flying rodent smiling with excitement as noticed the ant atop the gear and flew up towards him, not even waiting for a command as she cupped her hands together, sending a ball of electricity into the bug's face.

Chelsea watched with amazement as the Electro Ball sent Durant off of the gear, said gear lowering back into the ground as the Durant quickly flipped himself over, landing on his feet and sighing with relief. Dana narrowed her eyelids before shouting another command, the flying rodent sending an electric current toward the ant, Durant simply scurrying around it before Chelsea returned him.

"Wow, not bad," Chelsea said with a grin before adding, "You actually got me to return one of my Pokemon before having it defeated. That rarely happens," Dana grinning with pride as Nathan sighed, "She doesn't realize how effective fire types are against steel types, does she?" Jason shrugging and replying, "At least she's doing a descent job now."

At that moment, Chelsea sent in another Pokeball as a rather odd Pokemon emerged. This creature had a spinning gear on its side with its face on it, another gear, in the middle. There was a third one on the bottom with the middle one attached to a huge gear that represented its back. It also had a rotating ring with spikes coming out near the bottom.

"What the hell is that thing?" Jason asked as Nathan pulled out his Pokedex saying, "It's called Klinklang, a mash-up of gears, apparently," Jason saying, "It's freaking me out, Nathan... its face is on its side... that's creepy!"

"Not to mention one of its eyes looks like an x," Nathan replied as Dana returned her Emolga saying, "Alright, let's try something better for this," sending Pyro back in and saying, "Alright, Pyro, this opponent's not nearly as fast or small, so he'll be easier to hit."

"Oh, Klinklang doesn't have a gender," Chelsea replied with a sweet smile as Dana stared awkwardly at it for a while and said, "You don't say..." then decided this didn't matter before taking into consideration what Pyro should do. After all, the last thing she wanted was a repeat of his battle with Durant.

With that in mind, she said, "Pyro, give Klinklang a little warning with Ember before doing anything super serious," the pig nodding and sending in a blast of flames, the face gear crying out in pain as Dana's eyes went wide, the girl now realizing just how powerful fire type moves were and shouted, "ALRIGHT, LET'S HIT IT WITH FLAME CHARGE!" the pig nodding and going in, the ring spinning extra fast as the gears started to move to the side only to get grazed a little bit on the side.

However, Klinklang ignored this and proceeded to release a high-pitched frequency from its mouth, Pyro covering his ears as the gears rushed toward him, spinning around and hitting him with an attack known as Gear Grind. With this, the gears put minor bruises on the pig, Pyro ignoring this and sending his arms hard into the gears before covering his body in flames, ramming his shoulder hard into the gear's face, using Heat Crash and taking the Pokemon out for good, Chelsea quickly returning it.

With that, Chelsea grinned and said, "Not bad," before sending Durant back in. However, before the ant do anything, Dana, now realizing how much easier this could have been before, had Pyro use Ember, the ant already having taken in a lot of damage earlier, easily falling to this.

Chelsea smiled with respect and said, "Well, well, you've brought me down to my last Pokemon already," Dana grinning with pride as Chelsea sent in a rather shocking choice, Nathan and Jason staring at this, Jason's jaw dropped.

This creature resembled an eel with two long arms coming out, three claws on each. There were also yellow spots on its body and its lips were shaped kind of like the end of a hose. With a long antenna going across the top of its head and sticking out a little at the back, this was Elektross.

"Wait, I thought your preference was steel types," Dana said as Chelsea replied, "I have Elektross just in case I need him, and right now, I clearly do."

Luckily, Pyro could still stand up to this creature as he was an electric type, but Dana didn't know this. Had she looked at the Pokedex, she would have, but hearing his name gave her a good enough reason not to rely on the information device as she simply assumed Elektross was a water type, him being an eel and all.

As such, she quickly returned Pyro and sent Electra back in, the flying rodent grinning as Dana shouted a command, the Emolga sending a shock wave toward the eel, hitting him but not dealing all that much damage as Elektross was strong against electric type attacks. However, Electra was not what with her having flying DNA, and this was made clear when the electric eel unleashed a bolt of lightning into the air, the Thunder soon hitting Electra from above, the flying rodent falling to the floor and passing out, Dana breathing heavily as she returned her.

Chelsea giggled a bit and asked, "Didn't you know Elektross is a pure electric type?" Dana's eyes wide open as Nathan face palmed, Dana saying, "Well, at least I know now," sending Pyro back in before adding, "Now I don't have to worry about Pyro being hit by a water attack."

With that, the Pignite sent his arms toward the eel for an Arm Thrust, the eel responding with a much more powerful fighting type move called Brick Break, sending a fierce karate shop into the pig's forehead, Pyro slamming his arm into Elektross's face at the same time. This caused both to back up, each stepping atop one of the gears as both rose into the air, both looking down and gulping. If either fell, it would mean great pain for each one.

Dana realized only one move would actually reach Elektross as she shouted, "HIT HIM WITH EMBER!" Pyro sending a big flame into the eel's face. Unfortunately, this wasn't nearly enough to even send the eel back a little as he responded with Rock Tomb, summoning a set of stones from the ground, the rocks rising up and hitting the gear, causing it to spin briefly as Pyro found himself dizzy, Dana staring with terror.

The eel them proceeded to send a big beam from his mouth known as Hyper Beam, hitting the pig hard in the chest and sending him flying off of his gear. With that, he fell hard into the ground, out cold. This wasn't just because of the fall but also because Hyper Beam was an incredibly strong attack.

With that, his gear descended back into the ground, Elektross not sure whether or not to move from his gear, fearing for his own safety. Dana let out a sigh and smiled saying, "You did a good job," before returning Pyro and putting on a serious look.

"Things were looking so well!" Jason groaned as Nathan said, "It's okay, Jason. I'm sure Dana has this handled."

Dana thought hard about who to send in now. King could have been a descent choice, only he was kind of slow. Perhaps Edmond would make a good choice, what with the big rock on his back. However, before she could send him in, one particular ball started to rotate as she blinked, holding it up and sighing before sending in Queen, the Joltik putting on a serious look.

"Would her Dwebble have been a better choice?" Jason asked as Nathan replied, "Most likely, but Joltik's not such a bad choice either," Chelsea saying, "That Joltik of yours must be something for you to use it as a final resort," Dana hoping that Queen was good enough to win this.

However, the electric spider in luck as her opponent was up on top of a gear, not willing to move. With that in mind, the spider grinned with pride until the eel sent a Flamethrower down after her, the spider barely dodging in time, breathing heavily. The eel knew a fire type move. This may be harder than she'd first expected.

With that, Dana shouted, "QUEEN, GET UP TO ELEKTROSS'S LEVEL THEN DECIDE FROM THERE!" the spider nodding, but instead of climbing onto the other rising gear, she fired her string shot at Elektross's gear. She then proceeded to launch herself upward before coming half-way, shifting her weight and flipping upward, biting her string and allowing herself to fly into the eel while sending her front legs downward, using Slash to strike the eel hard, sending him backwards as he fell off of the gear, falling hard on his head, rolling around in pain while rubbing his cranium. Queen meanwhile leaped off of the gear, landing perfectly on her feet, being a spider and all.

Nathan blinked and asked, "Did you teach her that?" Dana shaking her head and saying, "No, but it was pretty damn cool, I must admit."

Chelsea's eyes sparkled as she squealed, "That was awesome! Oh my god, I mean, your Joltik used her String Shot to cling to the gear then she flew up and... oh my god... that was brilliant!"

However, Dana's moment of triumph ended when the electric eel slowly regained focus, rising back to his feet and sending a fierce Flamethrower into the spider's face. As the Joltik flew into the wall, her body now covered in burns, Dana looked with concern and asked, "Queen, are you okay?"

After a few seconds, Chelsea sighed, "Well, you did a good job, but hey, you can't win them all," but just as it seemed Dana had truly lost, Queen's legs started to twitch.

Everyone stared with shock as the spider's legs stretched out, bigger tufts of fur on the ankles and blue skin showing near the top, the spider positioning herself upright. Things got even more interesting as the spider's eyes got bigger, another set of miniature ones appearing on her forehead as her head grew in size, a bit of brown skin showing on her chin. She then sprouted a long pair of feelers with yellow hair on the ends of them, her abdomen becoming much bigger as well as it was no longer hairy. There was also blue hair coming from both sides of her body at the back end.

Dana pulled out her Pokedex, letting down a tear of joy and squealing, "Queen! You're a Galvantula!" the spider proceeding to fire a green beam into the shocked Elektross's face, sending him hard into the other wall as he passed out.

With that, Chelsea smiled widely before clapping, exclaiming, "Oh my god, that was just awesome! You were an amazing opponent, Dana!" before pulling out a badge shaped like a gear and handing it over to Dana, the girl smiling and accepting it with pride.

Nathan and Jason clapped as Dana ran over to her tarantula, picking the bug up and saying, "You were amazing back there, Queen," scratching the spider's head with her fingers as Queen made a purring-like noise.

With that, the group headed back to the Center, Dana feeling as happy as could be as she handed her Pokemon to Nurse Busy. Of course, since she overworked herself and took longer then other nurses, the trio found themselves waiting for quite some time.

"You know, you were complaining about me having more evolved Pokemon than you before," Nathan said as Dana nodded, confused by this statement as the boy added, "Technically, you have three Pokemon in their final forms now while I only have two."

"You mean I have four and you have three," Dana remarked as Nathan shook his head before saying, "No, Zelda and Pyro still have one more form to go," Dana's eyes sparkling as she said, "Now I'm excited."

Jason then let out a sigh and looked at his three Pokeballs saying, "Someday, my partners, someday," Nathan and Dana still not having the heart to tell him that his monkeys couldn't evolve just from battle experience alone.

Jack was just an hour-long walk from Hogalberg when he noticed yet another four-legged creature with hooves. This one was mostly green with a white underbelly, a leaf with a tint of pink at the end coming from its neck. Its feet also looked like green boots. Once again, Jack knew better than to mess with this one as he simply went along his way, ignoring it.

However, as he and Dewott walked down the path, they heard a noise as Dewott turned around, pulling on his master's leg and pointing behind them, Jack turning around and noticing the mysterious creature galloping towards him. Jack's eyes went wide with terror as he tried to flee for his life only to end up tripping over his own feet, falling forward and slowly pushing himself up, turning himself over and looking at the creature.

As the mysterious Pokemon approached him, Jack gulped and closed his eyes, turning his head to the side and breathing heavily, Dewott too scared to do anything right now to protect his master. As Jack trembled, the mystery Pokemon leaned its head inward, licking Jack's cheek.

Jack slowly opened his eyes and looked at it, trying to get over the shock of the fact that this one didn't attack him as it nuzzled up against his cheek. But why? What was it about Jack that made this lovely creature like him so much?

Either way, Jack simply got up, not going any further with this and said, "Thanks for not killing me," petting it atop the head before saying, "Sorry to jet, but we have to be somewhere," the boy slowly backing away, the Pokemon stopping in understanding and allowing him to go along his way, Jack breathing a sigh of relief and saying, "That was weird."


	20. Chapter 20

Pokemon Legacy

After Nurse Busy finally found the time, she managed to heal everyone's Pokemon as Nathan and his friends were out on their journey again. This time they were headed to V City, the name representing Victory. Little did they know the gym leader there, Max, was no longer on the side of good.

While moving along, Nathan noticed a small dove, his eyes going wide, sparkles forming as he said, "Guys, if it's not too much trouble, there's something I need to do right now..." Jason blinking and smirking before replying, "I know that look," Dana giggling before saying, "Have fun."

He already knew that this graceful creature was a Pidove and he wanted it. Not only that, but this was a great opportunity to finally give Wilbur a shot. With that in mind, he hurled his Pokeball forward, sending in the Blitzle.

Seeing this, the dove started to panic and attempted to fly away when Nathan had the Zebra unleash Spark, the dove crying out in agonizing pain before falling to the ground. All was silent as Jason asked, "Is that it?"

His question was soon answered as the dove slowly came to, staring at the Blitzle and realizing its situation. With that in mind, the dove let out a loud battle cry before flying fast and hard into Wilbur, the zebra taking in a lot of pain from this. The dove then proceeded to unleash gust, sending Wilbur flying into a tree.

"Counter that with a Thunder Wave!" Nathan spat, but Wilbur wasn't able to use it in time for the Pidove to send a series of wind blades into him known as Air Cutter, putting major cuts in the zebra thus causing him to bleed all over. The bird then soared toward the Blitzle, using Air Slash, its wing stretched out and striking him hard in the cheek, the cut there getting bigger.

"What just happened?" Jason asked, "That thing was terrified before and now it's fighting like a champion," Dana replying, "I think it's too scared to think rationally right now. Unfortunately, that seems to be helping it more than anything."

However, hearing these words gave Nathan and idea as he said, "Wilbur sit," the zebra blinking before doing so, Dana and Jason now really confused as Nathan said, "Now smile at the Pidove..." Wilbur forcing a grin as Nathan sighed, "Like you mean it," the zebra making it look more natural as the dove stopped, landing and walking toward the Blitzle with a calm look.

As Pidove got close enough, Nathan grinned and was about to have Wilbur use one last Spark to finish the job when he realized that wouldn't be honest and sighed. With that, he was about ready to return Wilbur, everyone staring with shock when the dove saw the look in his eyes, quickly flying up into the air as if challenging him to keep fighting. It was like it wanted to be caught now.

With that, Nathan smiled and had Wilbur use one last Spark on the dove, knocking it out as Nathan captured it, his light smile still on his face. Sure, it wasn't exactly the most earned of victories, but it was a victory nonetheless.

Then Nathan let the bird out, the Pidove perching itself on his shoulder as he stroked its head saying, "Welcome to the team, Celeste," Jason and Dana happy for him, Dana all the while wondering what her sixth Pokemon would be.

Meanwhile, at the Team Shadow headquarters, things seemed to be going as simple as ever. Victini was still in captivity, Tabitha afraid to try and free the poor thing knowing she'd probably get sent to their prison or even executed for it. Sabrina was still going about her usual business of looking around the place for progress reports when she was bored.

After a while, she pulled out a small device as a young Gothic-looking man with short hair dyed black, eyeliner and black ripped clothing entered and asked, "Whoa, you have a pocket phone?" Sabrina nodding and replying, "Yes I do, Benjamin," the man pulling out his own and asked, "Can I have your number so I can call you at any time?" Sabrina smiling devilishly as the man narrowed his eyelids saying, "I meant for communication purposes in case something comes up," Sabrina sighing, "Of course that's what you meant," feeling rather disappointed.

What was up with that anyway? She had plenty of guys working for her and yet none of them were interested. Why was that? Were they just intimidated by her status? Either way, it hardly mattered as she dialled a few numbers.

Meanwhile, in a Team Shadow van, Melissa heard her phone ring as she pulled it out saying, "Hello?" hearing a bit of talking and said, "Oh, hey boss, what's up?"

"Have you found the white orb yet?" Sabrina asked on the other end, Melissa smiling and saying, "Yeah, we got it. It's on its way back. Though we could have gotten it back faster had we taken the chopper instead of the van."

"Yeah, shame it was low on fuel when I gave you this mission," Sabrina replied before saying, "Well, I look forward to reaping the benefits of your hard work. You'll be swimming in cash for this."

Melissa then hung up and told Max the news, Max shrugging and replying, "Hey, you can have all the money you want. All that matters to me is that the world is safe," Melissa rolling her eyes.

Meanwhile, Tabitha had overheard Sabrina's end of the conversation. When she asked about the white orb, this made the gym leader worry. When she mentioned a lack of fuel, that gave Tabitha the impression things hadn't made a turn for worse just yet, at least not until Sabrina mentioned reaping the benefits. At that moment, Tabitha knew just how bad things had gotten.

With that, the fire gym leader went into the women's bathroom and was about to call up Yae when Sabrina entered, feeling the effects of having a soda with her lunch then smiled before saying, "Oh, hey Tabitha. How have you been lately?" Tabitha blinking before slipping the phone into her pocket and saying, "I'm fine..." smiling innocently as Sabrina asked, "So, I take it you came in here for a reason..."

Tabitha nodded and laughed nervously before entering a bathroom stall, Sabrina doing the same. That was certainly a close call. Tabitha felt rather stupid for not going to her room to make the call instead. Luckily, it didn't seem like Sabrina noticed the leader pulling her phone out, so perhaps things would be fine.

Soon enough, Nathan and his friends had entered V City, this place even bigger than Green City. There were even more buildings here including a higher level with a bunch of bridges representing a highway. There was even a small section for little houses.

"Okay, what do we do first?" Dana asked as Nathan shrugged saying, "You have a gym battle to do, right?" Dana nodding and saying, "That's right," Jason giving puppy dog eyes as the girl rolled her own eyes saying, "You don't have to watch me battle, okay?" Jason immediately taking off.

Nathan then noticed a banner ad for a Pokemon musical taking place in this city as he said, "Sorry, Dana, I have something I really want to do as well," Dana laughing and saying, "Come on, I'll be fine."

With that, Dana headed to the gym when she noticed a note on the door. She sighed figuring it was about the gym leader being absent, looking at it as her eyes went wide, her mouth hanging open as she clasped her hand over it.

Meanwhile, Jason was in a store for rare artifacts when he noticed a set of stones with peculiar markings on them, looking at them as the owner of the store said, "You've got a good eye. Those are elemental stones."

"I've heard of these, but I don't know what they do," Jason replied as the owner stated, "Well, they allow certain Pokemon to evolve. Which ones they evolve is based on the emblem. Can you guess which types evolve from each one?"

Jason examined them closely and pointed to the one with a leaf on it saying, "Grass types," then pointed at one with a water droplet adding, "Water types," before pointing at one with a flame on it saying, "Fire types. That's easy."

The owner clapped and said, "Well, luckily for you, they're half-price today," Jason about ready to purchase at least one when he noticed what the regular price for each was. Just one stone was worth 2100 dollars. At half price, it was 1050, which was still a lot for him, especially since trainers didn't really make money."

Leaving the shop empty-handed, he noticed Dana run up to him as she explained what she had just read, Jason staring in disbelief. However, what the note had said would have to wait as we now cut to Nathan who was in the theatre standing in line for auditions.

Looking at the casting, he smiled and sent out Zelda asking, "Ready to roll them in the aisles?" the snake nodded with a big smile on her face as Nathan then summoned Sammy saying, "Hey, they need a strong and fantastic Pokemon to play the tough brutish man in the role," Sammy blinking in confusion before Nathan sighed, "Women can also play men," Sammy then nodding in understanding.

The boy also sent out Wilbur and Celeste saying, "I think you two would make excellent soldiers," Wilbur grinning with pride upon hearing that, Nathan chuckling a bit before petting them. At least none of his friends were around to see him this openly happy.

However, this wasn't exactly the right time for him to think like this as said friends were in desperate search for him. None of them knew of his liking for musical theatre, so they never thought to look for him there.

All the while, far from V City, things had been going great for Jack so far. He had won himself the Gear Badge and even had his Sandile evolve into a longer version of himself standing on two legs named Krokorok.

Around this time, he had just finished a battle with weasel-like creature that had yellowish fur and bit pink forearms and legs of the same colour. This was known as Mienfoo. Fraxure let out a fierce battle cry while standing before his downed opponent, Jack grinning and capturing the weasel with a grin.

During this time, Tabitha had finally found some time to head to her room as she called up Yae, the professor answering and saying, "Hey, Tabby, what's going on?" Tabitha sighing, "They have the dragon orbs."

"Well, I'm not sure what those are, but it sounds bad," Yae replied before saying, "Alright, it's definitely time to strike now. Thank you, Tabitha."

However, Yae was rather surprised to hear silence on the other end, the woman thinking it rather rude that the gym leader couldn't have at least said goodbye. Of course, this wasn't by her own choice as Sabrina had entered her room with a couple of agents, one of them latching handcuffs to her wrists.

"I must admit, you have me fooled for quite some time," Sabrina said with a grin, "It's kind of a shame, really. I thought we had somewhat of a connection," Tabitha remarking, "It's not like we talked to each other that much," Sabrina replying, "I know, but still, betrayal hurts nonetheless," then sighed, "Tabitha, you can either continue to help me in my goal or you can be executed. Which would you prefer?"

Tabitha bit her lip and scowled, Sabrina letting out a sigh as she pulled out a gun, pointing it at the woman's head and saying, "You just couldn't make this easy for either or us, could you?" pulling the trigger as the sound of a gunshot could be heard on Yae's end, the professor's eyes going wide as she asked, "Tabitha? Is everything alright?"

Seeing the pocket phone on Tabitha's former bed, the gym leader laying there with a hole in her skull and blood running down her face, Sabrina picked up the phone and said, "Hi there, who may I ask is speaking?" Yae's eyes going wide as she hung up, breathing heavily with terror in her eyes. Without even receiving an explanation, she knew exactly what was going on as she quickly dialled up Moro.

Moro was busy examining a Pokemon as Boredom heard the phone ring, pointing and saying, "Honey, I think it's for you," the professor sighing, "God, why is it that before, I rarely ever got phone calls, and now I get them all the frickin time?" pressing a button as he saw Yae's face, asking, "Let me guess, things have gotten out of hand and you need Jacob's help immediately, right?"

"It's much worse than that..." Yae replied, "Our spy, Tabitha, has been killed," Moro's eyes going wide before Yae added the whole thing about the orbs, Moro even more freaked out as he spat, "Do you know what those things can do in the wrong hands!"

Yae blinked and shrugged as the man replied, "This is really, really bad. Most people don't know it, but those orbs contain the legendary dragons, Reshiram and Zekrom," Yae's eyes going wide as the professor added, "It happened a long time ago. Some evil being used the dragons for his own selfish benefit, controlling them with extract from the Unova Core. Things got out of hand when the dragons were forced to battle the Kami trio, Tornadus, Thundurus and Landorus."

"What happened to them?" Yae asked as Moro sighed, "The dragons didn't want to bring harm to the Kami trio, so they had the three seal them up into orbs and separate them from each other so they couldn't harm anyone. They hoped that one day, a hero would find the orbs and bring them back so they could continue living without being used for evil."

Yae then nodded and asked, "So how does one awaken them from their current state?" Moro sighing, "They need to be brought together. In other words, if that white orb reaches the Team Shadow headquarters and is brought close enough to the black one, the dragons will come back to life, and seeing as Team Shadow has a lot of core extract, let's just say that's not good news for us."

Yae then nodded and said, "Alright, call up Jacob right now. I don't even care if Izy can't come with him. We need all the help we can get. I'll get a hold of the other gym leaders and tell them what's going on."

With that, Moro let out a sigh, both hanging up as the professor dialled in a number, praying that this was a good time. After all, Jacob was one of the most powerful trainers he knew.

Meanwhile, in a quaint little town called Redwood, a 20-year-old man with short brown hair, green eyes and the typical outfit of a man his age named Jacob was at home cooking dinner as he turned around and asked, "How's Rachel doing over there?" a young woman with short brown hair of her own, red eyes and a black shirt and a pair of shorts of the same colour named Izy turning to face him and saying, "She's already learned her first word."

"What did she say?" Jacob asked as he heard a high-pitched voice squeak, "Butt!" Jacob narrowing his eyelids and asking, "Did you teach her that?" Izy rolling her eyes and remarking, "Think of who you're talking to here. Of course I did."

Jacob let out a sigh when he heard his screen phone going off, walking over to it and answering. When he saw the face on the other line, he smiled and said, "Hey, Moro," then signalled Izy to come over saying, "Hey, honey, come over here. It's Professor Moro!"

With that, Izy gave Rachel a bottle of milk, the baby sucking on it before running over to the screen saying, "Hey, Moro, how are things on your end?"

"Not so good," the professor replied with a sigh as Jacob blinked before asking, "What's the matter?" Moro biting his lip, just glad that Izy would be able to come along on this mission after all.

Meanwhile, Nathan's Pokemon had just finished their performances as he walked with them saying, "Alright, you four deserve a huge dinner after that amazing performance," pulling out some cash and saying, "I can't believe they actually paid me for this. The last theatre certainly didn't."

As he exited, he noticed his friends looking around as he approached them, tapping Dana on the shoulder as she turned and breathed a sigh of relief. She then explained to Nathan about the note she'd found on the gym. It was from the gym leader, Max, stating that he had left his gym to perform heroic tasks that would help save mankind and that a substitute would there soon. That last part hardly mattered as all three teens knew exactly what was going on.

"Guys," Nathan said with a sigh, "I know how much this journey means to you all, but now things are getting really out of hand. Who's to say the last two gym leaders haven't joined Team Shadow as well?"

"What are we gonna do about it?" Jason asked as Nathan smiled lightly before asking, "Did you forget that I happen to know where their base is located?"


	21. Chapter 21

Pokemon Legacy

Note: The thing about the Kanto region is a reference to the manga in which Blue, the character known in the anime as Gary Oak, replaces the eighth gym leader. Also, I apologize if those half-ring like things on the Kami Trio aren't tails. To me, they look like they're coming from that particular spot, so I'm calling them that.

"Okay, that's great, you know where their base is," Jason stated then asked, "Is it close?" Nathan shaking his head and sighing, "No... no it isn't..."

Jason then shook his head saying, "Well, we have no way of getting there quickly. I say we leave this to the authorities," Nathan then shaking his own head and replying, "Who's to say they're not already Team Shadow members? Look, I know we're not exactly much, but we should at least try, right?"

"Okay, but how are we going to get...?" Jason remarked before noticing a young girl who looked to be fourteen walking up to the entrance to the gym, knocking on the door before standing there in wait.

With that, the trio slowly approached her, Dana directing the girl toward the note as she looked up and nodded before saying, "I noticed that there, but I can't read..." a silence entering the area as everyone stood there for a while before the girl asked, "Can you read it to me?"

Another brief silence filled the air as Nathan rolled his eyes and agreed to do so. With that, he read the entire message from Max to the young girl, her eyes going wide with shock. She may have been illiterate, but she was able to comprehend what this meant.

"You mean Max has joined Team Shadow?" she asked as Dana nodded, the girl gasping, "Oh god! This isn't good! Didn't he get Tabitha's message?"

"Wait, you mean the gym leader?" Jason asked, "How do you know Tabitha?" the girl then smiling and replying, "I'm the gym leader of Icicle Town. My name's Amanda. Nice to meet you," the girl bowing her head, Dana's eyes sparkling as she squealed, "Wow! A gym leader, and at such a young age! That is so cool!" Amanda shrugging before saying, "It's not that big of a deal. The Kanto region has Blue."

With that, Jason let out a sigh before asking, "Can you, by chance, help us get to Team Shadow's base? We want to teach them a lesson," Nathan staring at Jason who simply shrugged in response to this, Nathan rolling his eyes as Amanda replied, "Okay, I'll give you a lift," before summoning a big Eagle with its head feathers sticking up all around its head, red feathers all across its back and black feathers all across its front. With yellow and blue tips on its tail feathers, this was known as Braviary.

Realizing this alone wouldn't be enough to fit all four of them, she also sent out a vulture with feathers atop its head in a ponytail formation. It also had a big tuft of feathers around its neck and a skirt made of what looked kind of like a shark's jaw bone around its waist. With brown feathers covering the rest of its body, this was Mandibuzz.

Nathan smiled lightly as Dana's eyes sparkled, Jason stating, "Wait, before we go, there's something I gotta do," then looking at Nathan, he asked, "How much cash have you got on you?" Nathan replying, "Well, I recently did an, um, part time job and earned myself a lot of cash," pulling his earnings out as Dana and Jason stared in shock, Nathan adding, "It was a very big part time job."

With that, Jason took Nathan with him to the relic shop from earlier and bought himself the three stones he wanted, Nathan saying, "I have to admit, I thought you were wasting my time at first, but that's actually a smart purchase."

Meanwhile, Moro had just told Jacob and Izy of the whole situation as Jacob blinked, asking, "Why didn't you tell me about Team Shadow sooner?" Moro about to answer when Izy cut in, adding, "Yeah, don't you trust us to take care of things? What are we, a last minute resort?" Jacob nodding before adding, "Don't forget who saved the world from Giratina!"

"It was your child that got in the way, okay!" Moro spat, pinching his forehead when Boredom got up and asked, "Hey, honey, who is it?" before looking at the screen and replying, "Oh, hey, you're that second-place runner-up from the tournament..." Jacob and Izy waving at Boredom before the woman went back to whatever she was doing, Moro taking a deep breath before adding, "Look, I did call you once to let you know about this so you'd be prepared to come in when things got bad."

"You did?" Jacob remarked, tilting his head to the side as the professor nodded and replied, "Yes, I did. However, before I could say anything, you brought up the fact that Izy had been pregnant for a month at that time. I couldn't let you get involved, not when Izy was suspecting," Izy then smiling sweetly and teasing, "Aw, it's sweet of you to care," Moro sighing, "I was also going to call you a few days ago when things did take a turn for worse, but I figured you were still suspecting," Jacob shaking his head and replying, "Oh, no, our little Rachel was born a couple of weeks ago."

With that, Moro nodded, clearly losing patience at this point as Jacob reassured him that he and Izy would find a babysitter and be on their way soon. After all, this was really important. After that, the two left the house, Jacob and Izy giving their daughter a goodbye kiss before doing so, and Izy summoned a big owl-like creature known as Noctowl, Nathan summoning his rhino beetle, Heracross. Of course, where would Jacob be without his ever-faithful Lucario?

The very dog-like creature immediately joined him after helping to make the man's bed, Jacob giving his best friend thumbs up before climbing onto Heracross's back. Luckily, the beetle had developed so much strength over the years that he was able to carry Jacob. Of course, if a super heavy person were to sit on him, he'd end up crushed.

During this time, Tabitha's little sister, Tammy, had just received a call from Yae telling her of the bad news related to her sister's untimely death. After hearing of this, Tammy simply hung up the phone. She couldn't even thank the professor for the news or anything. She was too shocked by this.

After his phone call to Jacob and Izy had ended, Moro then called up Kevin, the seventh gym leader in Celtia region, Kevin answering and saying, "Uh... hi... um... who are you?" Moro groaning, "It's Professor Moro..." Kevin replying, "Oh, hey Moro, what's the good word?"

Moro explained the entire situation as Kevin nodded before saying, "You know that thanks to the law, we gym leaders can't meddle in affairs outside of our region, right?" Moro nodding and replying, "I know that. What I want is for you to find Darkrai and forward this message onto him. Let's just say we need him to get a certain trio on our side."

As Jack finally arrived in V City and noticed the sign on the door, he scowled and said, "Alright, I guess I'll have to report back to the base to get this out of the way," before calling up Sabrina, the woman in the middle of disposing Tabitha's body when she heard her Pocket Phone, answering and saying, "Hey, what's up?"

Her eyes went wide when she heard Jack demanding a ride back to headquarters. Not only was it rare for anyone to demand anything of her, but she could tell Jack hadn't completed his mission yet. However, when he mentioned really wanting a gym battle with Max and the Noahberg gym leader who he'd been cheated out of facing, figuring he was there as well, Sabrina figuring she'd do him this one favour, granted he go back to his original duty of taking down Nathan and bringing him back to the organization right after.

While Jacob and Izy flew off toward this region at incredible speed, Jacob turned to Izy and said, "You know how I trust your judgement and all that, but who did you pick to be Rachel's babysitter?" Izy smiling and saying, "I called Anna," Jacob nodding and saying, "Good call."

However, things just got confusing when the very green-haired girl they were talking about rode up next to them on the back of a Scarmory. This metallic bird was owned by a woman who always dressed in a fancy outfit named Janette, the trainer who had taken the number one spot in the Celtia region's Pokemon Challenge years back.

"Hey, you two!" Izy exclaimed, waving as Jacob spat, "Anna! What are you doing here!" Anna smiling sweetly and replying, "Don't worry, Jacob, I found a good replacement to take care of your child."

Meanwhile, back at home, a young blond girl named Roxanne was standing before Rachel's crib and squealing, "Who's a cute little button? You are! Oh, yes you are!" pulling out a chocolate bar and asking, "You want some candy?" the baby reaching her arms out.

"Roxanne?" Jacob asked, blinking before repeating, "Seriously, Roxanne?" Anna replying, "She'll do fine," before Jacob took a deep breath, shaking his head before asking, "Say, Janette, what are you doing here?"

Janette bowed her head before saying, "Well, Kevin did trust me with a medal that could potentially bring Giratina back if placed in the wrong hands, plus who better to help out than the one who took the number one spot from you?" Jacob asking, "When did you become a smartass?" Janette chuckling and replying, "I was just joking, silly."

Then noticing the way Anna was clinging to Janette so she could stay on, the man added, "By the way, when did you two become best buddies? You barely talked to each other whenever I saw you together," Anna smiling and replying, "A lot's happened over the last couple of years. In fact, we're more than just good friends now."

With that, Anna held up her finger, revealing a ring as Janette did the same, Jacob and Lucario's jaws dropped, their eyes wide open as Izy broke out into hysterics shouting, "See? I told you that would be his reaction!" Jacob and Lucario staring at her as Jacob spat, "YOU KNEW ABOUT THIS!" Izy nodding and holding in more laughter as Jacob simply shook his head, Anna and Janette giggling at each other, Anna moving her hands up and placing them against Janette's chest just to make Jacob freak out a little longer.

All the while, the other gym leaders had also gotten the call about Team Shadow's progress, all travelling in their own ways to the Team Shadow headquarters, some faster than others. Pamela had gone thanks to her Ducklett, which had evolved into a beautiful swan known as Swanna. Rocky had also hitched a ride with her, him not having any fast-moving Pokemon or a car for that matter.

Chelsea had used a plane that she had built to get there, and to make it better, it had a special function that allowed it to revert into a box that could carry in her pocket when not using it. She truly was a genius.

Another gym leader, a man by the name of David, had also arrived thanks to a three-headed dragon. Its scales were blue with pink on half of its tail. Two of the heads had black fur around them made to resemble long sleeves, making the heads look like hand substitutes. Its head, on the other hand, had the surrounding fur sticking up much like a lion's mane, showing its pink interior. With a set of black wings, this was Hydreigon.

"Is everyone here?" David asked as Rocky shook his head saying, "We're still waiting for Amanda," David saying, "It may take a while, though. She doesn't know yet that Max has joined Team Shadow or that Tabitha's dead. She wasn't around to get that call and refuses to buy a pocket phone."

"What does that have to do with her taking too long?" Chelsea asked as David replied, "She went to fetch Max before coming here," Pamela blinking and asking, "How do you know that?" David replying, "She sent me a message telling me that. I assume she left afterwards because she wouldn't answer when I called her back."

All the while, Kevin had explained the whole situation to Darkrai, the ghost-like creature headed off to find exactly who he had told him to find. But who were they recruiting for this mission?

That was soon revealed as Darkrai travelled as fast as he could to a mountainous area, entering a cave where three tough men riding clouds were. One of these men had green skin and purple spots along with white hair made from a bit of the cloud he was riding. He also had a violet tail with snail shell formations on it. This was Tornadus.

The other had blue skin and a horn, his hair shaped like a lightning bolt. His tail was blue and covered in black spiked balls ever couple of inches. This was Thundurus.

The third one was orange with three horns atop his head, a big log-like shape on the back of his head as opposed to hair. His tail looked more like a tree branch as it was brown and had stubs all around it. This being was Landorus. All three of these men had white pointy moustaches.

All three seemed to be having a party of some kind while singing, "It's nice to be a legend, most people leave you alone. Because you're strong and powerful..."

Then stopping, Landorus asked, "What rhyme with alone?" the other two sighing and shaking their heads, Darkrai blinking and saying, "Hello..." the three god-like beings turning around and putting on a more serious look, folding their arms and curling their tails in a ring-like formation around them as Tornadus asked, "What do you want, Darkrai?"

The spirit then bowed his head to the three before saying, "Kami Trio, I need your help. It's related to Reshiram and Zekrom," all three staring with their eyes wide open, bewildered to be hearing such a thing. They hadn't heard mention of the legendary dragons in years. Of course, quite literally living in a cave, it made sense.

"Yes, remember how you sealed them up?" Darkrai asked, the trio nodding as Thundurus replied, "Oh, yes, most certainly. It was quite a mess, but also smashing good fun," chuckling a bit before Tornadus asked, "Well, what about that?"

"It seems an evil organization called Team Shadow has found the orbs containing them," Darkrai replied, "They're not together yet, but they will be, and these Team Shadow guys have extract from the Unova Core, so this is a very big deal."

All three gasped as Darkrai added, "Will you help me and a group of others prevent them from reuniting?" Tornadus nodding before saying, "We'll show them a thing or two! No one messes with the Kami Trio!"

"Well, it will be most gory and graphic, but if it needs doing, why not?" Thundurus adding before taking a sip of tea from a cup that had been on a rock formation representing a table, Landorus banging his fists together and shouting, "Landorus go into battle! Landorus smash Shadow Team's head in!"

Darkrai let out a sigh, wondering if these three were really the brave warriors he'd heard they were, but decided not to question it, explaining how he couldn't help them. After all, it was his duty to watch over the Celtia region to make sure nothing went wrong there. The Kami Trio understood perfectly as they flew off toward the location Darkrai had told them to go to.

While moving along, they also released a thunderous noise from their clouds. This caught the attention of three particular Pokemon of the goat variety, all three knowing right away that this was a sign that their services were needed. With that, all three galloped away from their homes.

At this time, Amanda finally arrived where the other gym leaders were, landing and saying, "Sorry for my tardiness," David sighing, "It's okay. I'm just glad you're here," then noticed the teens with her and asked, "Who are they?"

Nathan walked up to David and said, "My name's Nathan. I used to be a member of Team Shadow against my will," David replying, "Ah, yes, Tabitha told me about you before she, well..."

"Before she what?" Dana asked as David sighed, "She was caught by Team Shadow earlier today," Nathan gasping before asking, "What did they do to her?" David looking down, not sure how to put it as the others understood right away, Dana clasping a hand over her mouth as Amanda stared with confusion, Jason making a throat-slitting motion with his ringer, Amanda letting down tears and biting her lip.

"Yes, it's a terrible loss, but we need to focus on the task at hand," David replied as Pamela, Rocky and Chelsea noticed the three teens, smiling as Chelsea said, "Well, with Dana helping us, we should have no problem."

However, while they certainly had enough time to stop letting Tabitha's death get to them, Nathan let down a tear, not even trying to hide it as he said, "This just got more personal. It's bad enough they lied about my mom's health, but now they've actually committed a real murder."

It was at this exact moment that four others arrived with their Pokemon, everyone in shock as David asked, "Hey, uh, who are you?" Jacob getting off his Heracross and returning him before saying, "Jacob, sir," shaking David's hand as Dana and Jason stared, their eyes sparkling as Dana asked, "You mean the Jacob, the legendary trainer who killed Giratina?" the gym leaders staring with shock as David said, "I thought your name sounded familiar. Well, good to have you on the force."

With that, a plan was laid out. Things were going to get rough now, and there was no turning back.


	22. Chapter 22

Pokemon Legacy

Note: Yes, I know the Elite 4 members in the game actually have 6 Pokemon, but I'm going by the first battle's logic.

While the trainers discussed plans on breaking into the Team Shadow headquarters, the Kami Trio was a mile from this location, Tornadus suddenly noticing a truck moving toward said location as well. He then nudged Thundurus and pointed at it.

"Yes, it's quite lovely," the thunder god replied as Tornadus rolled his eyes and asked, "Can't you feel the energy coming from it?" Thundurus sighing, "You know that only you among us can detect things like that, though I don't see why, what with me being the brains of the outfit," Landorus shrugging.

Tornadus let out a sigh and said, "I can feel the white orb's presence coming from it," the other two nodding in understanding, Landorus summoning rocks all around him without a second thought and sending them toward the truck, hitting it hard as it screeched to a halt.

Melissa's eyes were wide open as she asked, "What in the HELL was that!" Max poking his head out the window and looking up before saying, "Oh, we just have some strange-looking Pokemon riding clouds chasing us," the two letting this sink in for a few seconds before Melissa's eyes went wide, the Elite Four Member exclaiming, "You don't mean the Kami Trio, do you?"

Poking her head out as well, she started to freak as Thundurus started sending lightning down toward them, the two jumping out of the truck just in time as it took in the bolt and exploded. Tornadus gave Thundurus a high-five before the wind god conjured up a huge twister, picking up the remains of the truck and totalling them.

"Oh god, the orb was in the glove compartment..." Melissa said, breathing heavily as Max pulled it out of his pocket and said, "Always be prepared for the worst," Melissa's eyes sparkling as she gave the gym leader a hug shouting, "I OFFICIALLY RESPECT YOU NOW!"

However, the threat was far from gone as the trio immediately saw this, all three lowering themselves toward the ground, Tornadus holding out his hand and saying, "Make this easy for yourselves. We'd rather not take a life today," Landorus whining, "Aw, why not?"

At that moment, Melissa had an idea as she whispered something in Max's ear, the boy nodding and taking off. Just as the elemental gods were about to pursue him, Melissa sent in all four of her Pokemon, blocking their path.

The first was a purple, slender cat with pink fur around its eyes. It also had yellow fur on its ankles and underbelly. This was known as Liepard. Another was an odd-looking creature with what resembled pigtails on the sides of its head, but was actually a part of its skin. It also had blue eyes, a white cotton-like tail and a mixture of pink and white skin. This was known as Audino.

Her other Pokemon was a blue bat-like creature with a disc-like nose, a heart-shaped nostril in the middle It also had two pink tails twisted up together in an incomplete knot. Its ears were stuck together and it had a big white tuft of fur around its neck. This was Swoobat.

Finally, to end it all, the last Pokemon to emerge was a very strange bird-like creature. Its wings with yellow with blue tips. Its head looked quite literally like a big pin with one eye in the middle. On its torso, it had a green mouth-like formation around a square-shaped body with two eyes in the middle and two fork-like protrusions sticking out of the sides. With a tail quite similar to its wings, this was Sigilyph.

"Well, we certainly have our work cut out for us," Thundurus said in a rather smug tone, "I mean, this may take us as long as, say, a whole minute to finish," Melissa narrowing her eyelids and thinking, 'That's just long enough for me,' Max standing a few feet from the area and dialling up a number on his pocket phone.

During this time, the trainers were finally making their move, each going their own separate ways while staying in groups. Pamela and Rocky had gone to the top floor thanks to Pam's Swanna, taking out anyone in the room they landed in within seconds. Chelsea and Amanda had gone to the second floor using Amanda's Braviary, doing the same for these agents here. Meanwhile, Jacob and Izy were going in through the Western section of the first floor, Jacob having a spiritual fire monkey known as Infernape smash a window open, the two climbing in.

Anna and Janette, using Janette's Scarmory, went to the other side of the second floor, breaking in as well, David going in through the Eastern side of the first floor with Nathan, trusting him more than his other friends. That left Dana and Jason together, the two choosing their own path to take. The main mission was for everyone else to distract the guards while Nathan and David found the extract of the Unova Core and removed it. And despite being rather high in number, the trainers were doing a descent job not bringing attention to themselves so far.

Sabrina was still in her office when she got a call from Max, the boy saying, "Sabrina, this is pretty serious. We need three chunks of core extract in the forest a mile away from HQ. Could you send us some?" Sabrina putting on a look of disappointment, not wanting to use up anymore but figured that if Max of all people desperately needed it, she may as well comply. After all, how often did this particular gym leader consider anything urgent?

With that, she immediately called up her most trusted professor, telling him of the instructions she'd been given as he immediately headed for the room where the extract was held, taking three small chunks out of it. With that, he quickly passed it on to another agent, the man heading off to the bay where the company vehicles were kept.

At that moment, he passed right by Jason and Dana, the two hiding behind a box and not even knowing enough about the core extract and care about what the agent had in his hands. With that, the two continued to sneak around the place, Jason noticing Eric walking by, his eyes going wide as he ducked down further, the man looking toward the boxes but shrugging before carrying on his way.

"He almost saw us..." Jason whimpered, Dana smiling and saying, "But he didn't. It's okay."

While Nathan and David crept through the halls, hiding behind whatever they could, Nathan let out a sigh and uttered, "I hope the others are okay without me..." David replying, "I'm sure they'll be fine. Don't forget the task at hand."

Nathan nodded, still a little distressed by all of this as the two continued, Nathan stepping on a bad floorboard as it creaked a little, an agent turning into that direction, the two ducking down behind a box. The agent narrowed his eyelids, walking over as David gave Nathan a cross look, the boy shrugging when the agent spotted them.

With that, he immediately pulled out a pocket phone and pressed a particular button having his ringer go off while shouting, "HEY, GUYS, WE GOT INTRUDERS!" a whole group running from nearby, Jacob and Izy noticing them running as Izy groaned, "Oh god, I bet it's that Jason kid. He does kinda seem like an idiot..." Jacob sighing, "We should probably go help. After all, those two are inexperienced in this sort of thing."

However, since it was Nathan and David who had been spotted and not Jason and Dana, the two did stand a bit more of a chance. However, just as David was about to send his Pokemon in, Nathan had Zelda distract the guards with a Leaf Tornado before saying, "Don't forget the mission, David! I'll stay and distract them!" David's eyes going wide as he was about to object, but seeing the seriousness in Nathan's eyes, the man let out a sigh and took off, running toward the distract agents and performing an aerial somersault over their heads, turning and giving Nathan thumbs up before running off.

With that, the boy sent in all of his other Pokemon as he said, "Alright, guys, you ready for an all-out brawl?" the Pokemon all giving him an army salute, smiles on their faces.

Anna and Janette were also mowing down a few agents themselves when suddenly, two voices entered the room, a male voice saying, "Well, look what we have here. A couple of interlopers," a female voice joining it while saying, "When will these idiots ever learn?"

With that, two people entered the room, one a young boy with orange hair and a green T-shirt along with green shorts. The other was a young girl with red hair and her own green top.

Anna blinked and said, "Why, hello, who might you be?" Janette pinching her cheek and saying, "You're adorable when you're being friendly to the enemy," the two strangers blinking before deciding to ignore this odd behaviour, doing a pose, pointing their fingers in the air and shouted, "WE'RE THE GRASS-TERMINATORS!" Anna and Janette looking at each other and shrugging.

The girl then said, "I am Trisha!" then sent in a Pokeball shouting, "My partner is the ever-mighty bug and grass combo, Leavanny!" sending in a praying mantis with a yellow head and green leaves covering its body.

"And I am Tommy!" exclaimed the boy, posing like a fashion model before winking and blowing a kiss at the girls, "My partner is the super-dee-dooper beauty of the flowers, Lilligant," giggling like a schoolgirl before sending in a white creature with a build similar to a young girl. A flower bud surrounded her waist like a dress with a yellow lily representing feet. Atop her head was a big red flower with a golden filament representing a crown in the middle of it.

Seeing this, Anna's eyes sparkled as she said, "They're so pretty," Tommy chuckling and saying, "Oh, stop," Trisha rolling her eyes and saying, "Focus, Tommy," Tommy still chuckling a bit before putting on a serious look, Trisha sighing, "You are not doing your kind any justice right now," Anna and Janette shrugging before Janette stated, "We're not exactly taking offence to that."

With that, Anna sent in a Pokemon of her own, this one a beautiful white fox with nine tails. This Pokemon was aptly named Ninetales. Janette also sent in her own Pokemon, this one being a big pterodactyl with a spade on the end of his tail known as Aerodactyl.

As the dinosaur let out a deafening roar, the two leaf trainers gulped, trembling in fear. They were not expecting this. After all, these particular Pokemon couldn't be found in this region. Heck, an Aerodactyl couldn't really be found anywhere, just revived from a particular fossil.

Meanwhile, Melissa was holding her own better than expected as her Sigilyph managed to flew high into the air, dive-bombing Tornadus with Sky Attack, causing him to flinch as she proceeded to unleash Air Cutter, the god taking in a few wounds. He didn't bleed from it, but it still hurt.

Meanwhile, Liepard sent her paw, which was now covered in a black aura, into Landorus's face, unleashing Sucker Punch. Audino added to the damage by ramming her body hard into the god. Of course, since this move was Double Edge, she took in a bit of damage too.

Thundurus was also taking in quite a bit of damage Swoobat avoided him long enough to unleash Future Sight, a big ball of energy flying into the thunder god. However, this wasn't quite enough as all three eventually lost their patience, Tornadus sending a stream of black and purple energy called Dark Pulse into Sigilyph, knocking the ancient bird down for good. Thundurus unleashed Thunder, hitting Swoobat hard and knocking him out, what with the attack being electric and all. Landorus managed to knock out his opponents by ramming his fists hard into the ground, causing a hug earthquake before Melissa returned her Pokemon, trembling and wondering when Max would show up with the core extract.

"Step aside, girl," Tornadus said as Landorus groaned, "Can't I smash her just a little bit?" Tornadus replying, "Only if she doesn't comply."

However, just as all seemed well and good for them, an agent managed to ride up to Max on a motorcycle, handing him the core extract as the gods heard the motor, flying toward the sound, Melissa trembling with fear. But just as they were about to unleash an attack, Max came out from behind the tree and flashes the extract in front of their faces, the trio pausing and staring in absolute terror.

"Oh, what fowl trickery!" Thundurus exclaimed in a very over-dramatic tone as Tornadus growled, "You monster!"

Melissa sighed with relief before looking at the fragments and asked, "What's it? What are we supposed to do with small pieces like that?" Max shrugging before hurling them at the Kami Trio, the three forming into long chains and latching themselves to the trio's bodies, all three crying out in agony as they fell to the ground in defeat, Melissa breathing heavily and smiling before returning her Pokemon, she and Max quickly running toward headquarters.

Nathan was blasting through the Team Shadow agents with incredible ease, sighing before saying, "Man, you guys are easier to beat than I remember," then blinked before adding, "Or maybe I've just gotten too strong at this point."

He was especially proud of Wilbur and Celeste, the two plowing through hordes of Pokemon despite them not having been in the team for very long. Hanzo was once again taking matters into his own hands, but he was faring a lot better than usual due to his opponents being rather pathetic. Naturally, Zelda was going a spectacular job, gracefully taking down her opponents with her Vine Whips while Toby and Sammy did a lot of damage too, Sammy being the biggest star as was expected.

That said, though, it wasn't as if he was having a perfectly easy time for when he finished off the agents, all of them returning their Pokemon and fleeing for their lives, Nathan's Pokemon were famished and had even taken in quite a few blows. But just as he was about to return them, a man wearing a black leather suit and a big hat covering most of his face entered, Nathan blinking before grimacing.

"I have no idea who you are, but you'd better back off unless you want your Pokemon to be rendered useless too," the man grinning and remarking, "I'll admit, you are worth talking to during a battle, but your Pokemon are in no condition to face mine," sending in his own Pokemon, Nathan rather shocked by what he was seeing.

One was a cat-like creature with a pink fur sticking up that resembled a head dress and razor sharp claws coming from her hands named Weavile. Another was a white wolf with a grey face and a blade on his cheek known as Absol. His next Pokemon looked like a baboon made of wood, long hair going past his eyes and flowing down his back, his arms like tree branches. This was Shiftry. He also had a wolf with a red fur around her muzzle, black fur covering everything else, bones in certain places of her body and horns on her head. This was Houndoom.

His last Pokemon was a small turtle with an enormous head. Its mouth was shaped like a row of razor sharp teeth and its eyes were small and round with no pupils. This was Trapinch.

Before Nathan knew it, all of his Pokemon except Sammy had been knocked out, Nathan slowly raising his hand and returning her before she could get badly injured too, his eyes wide open. He couldn't believe his eyes. Where had this man gotten such Pokemon?

As luck would have it, though, Jacob and Izy had just arrived as Jacob saw the man standing before Nathan shouting, "Hey!" the man turning around, his eyes going wide as he asked, "Jacob?" Jacob recognizing the man, he and Izy smiling as Jacob said, "Wow, I haven't seen you since the Ultimate Pokemon challenge semi-finals, Sampson," Izy waving, wanting to be polite despite still having a bit of a hatred towards this man.

"Hey, you know this guy?" Nathan asked as Jacob nodded and said, "Yeah, he was one of my opponents in the tournament. He was tough. I almost lost to him," Sampson nodding before folding his arms and saying, "You truly are the best opponent I've ever faced even to this day."

"Dude, he's working for Team Shadow," Nathan stated, Jacob and Izy staring in shock until Jacob smiled and said, "Ah, I see, so you're a spy just like Tabitha," Nathan face-palming as Sampson remarked, "I knew there was something suspect about her..." before shaking his head and adding, "No, I'm helping Sabrina in her plans for world domination, you moron."

Jacob's eyes went wide, Izy groaning, feeling ashamed of herself for not figuring out for herself that Sampson was evil. It was so obvious, but the amount of sportsmanship he showed when Jacob defeated him all those years back implied otherwise.

"Well, if that's the case, I guess we may as well have a rematch, eh?" Jacob asked as Sampson said, "Yeah, let's make it a battle royal," pointing at his Pokemon as Jacob noticed the Trapinch saying, "Ah, so that's your sixth Pokemon. You never did use him in the tournament," Sampson nodding and saying, "There's a reason I try not to use him."

Then blinking, Izy asked, "By the way, what happened to your Spiritomb?" Sampson sighing, "His keystone was crushed, he vanished forever... in short, he's dead, end of story," Nathan looking with concern as Sampson groaned, "GOD, you're an amazing trainer, but man, you are SUCH a goody-goody! I don't want your sympathy!"

However, Jacob still sent in all of his Pokemon except for Heracross, figuring he should still even the playing field. Of course, he had Lucario and Infernape in there, but he also had a blue wolf with yellow fur around his face named Manectric. He also had a cactus with what looked like the roof of a shrine atop his head known as Cacturne. Finally, his last Pokemon was a weasel with two tails and a life preserver around her arms named Floatzel.

Before the battle could begin, Nathan was soon grabbed by a couple of agents who asked, "Do you want us to throw him in a cell?" Sampson sighing, "Do whatever you want with him. I don't give a shit."

With that, Nathan was taken away as Jacob turned to Izy and said, "Honey, I'll handle this on my own. You take care of any others. After we're done, we'll save Nathan together," Izy nodding before giving Jacob a kiss on the lips, running off as Sampson blinked, saying, "Somehow, I knew you two would get married," the battle about to begin.


	23. Chapter 23

Pokemon Legacy

Note: Tim Bartok is a reference to Tim Burton.

While Jacob's battle with Sampson was going on, Anna and Janette were dominating their opponents, Trisha and Tommy, Ninetales unleashing an attack called Fire Blast in which she unleashed a big flame in the shape of the kanji for dai, which meant big in Japanese. Leavanny did manage to dodge it, but just barely, her foot getting grazed quite a bit as she fell on her side, groaning in pain.

Aerodactyl had also dealt a lot of damage to Lilligant but hooking his wing hard into her neck, using Wing Attack. However, despite this, the two grass types still managed to move, but looked as if they were on the end of their rope.

"Tommy, let's use our special team attack," Trisha said with a grin as Tommy's eyes sparkled, the boy asking, "Do you really mean...?" before squealing excitedly, Trisha sighing, "You promised you wouldn't freak out."

With that, Leavanny stood atop Lilligant's head, Anna and Janette staring with curiosity, as the flower girl started to spin around, releasing pedals with a move known as Pedal Dance. While spinning along with her, Leavanny held out her arms and summoned up a twister of leaves known as Leaf Storm, both sending their attacks at Ninetales and Aerodactyl, the two staring in shock before taking in the blow, cuts forming all around them while Tommy and Trisha gave each other a high five, doing a victory dance.

However, their dance came too early as Aerodactyl and Ninetales were still standing, Anna grinning and shouting, "YOU STILL HAVEN'T SEEN OUR TEAM ATTACK!" Aerodactyl lifting up Ninetales up as Janette smiled sweetly saying in her most angelic tone, "Both of you, use Flying Flame Charge."

With that, Aerodactyl picked up Ninetales with his feet, Ninetales lighting both their bodies on fire for a Flame Charge. With that, both soared down toward the grass type Pokemon, the two trying to flee for their lives only to get hit easily, both out cold as Anna and Janette hugged each other, Tommy and Trisha letting down tears.

"Alas, they were just too good for us," Tommy gasped, placing the back of his hand against his forehead and looking up to the heavens, letting down tears while Trisha moaned, looking down, "We have been bested, but we've no right to fuss."

Anna and Janette stared as the two twirled before holding each other's hands stating, "We truly did our best, but we sunk down with the rest. At least we fall with pride, with these conditions we shall abide," the two pointing toward the exit to the room as Anna and Janette bowed, saying, "Thank you," the two exiting as Anna asked, "Do people always sing in this region? That would be cool if they did," Janette replying, "I think it would get annoying if it was excessive."

While Izy was moving along, she ended up running into a woman with violet hair smoking a cigarette, asking, "Who are you?" the woman remarking, "Who wants to know?" pulling the death stick out of her mouth as Izy bowed and said, "Right. I'm Izy."

"The name's Rachel," the other woman replied as Izy smiled and said, "My daughter's named Rachel, too," the woman's eyes going wide as she said, "Wow, I know you didn't base the name off of me, but I still feel flattered," then blinked before asking, "So, are you a new recruit?"

Izy shook her head and replied, "I'm here to stop Team Shadow," Rachel frowning before tossing her cigarette to the side, the stick running into a random agent's eyes as he cried in pain, running away from the area, Rachel remarking, "You just don't understand what this organization's about. Now leave before I use force."

Izy simply rolled her eyes before stepping away from the woman, pulling out a Pokeball, tossing it forward and summoning a flying green bug with sword blades for arms known as Scyther. Rachel stared in shock, not even knowing of such a creature's existence, but refused to question this further as she sent in her own Pokeball, letting loose strange-looking woman with purple skin covered in what looked like a black gown, black hair atop its head. This was Gothitelle.

"Wow, that thing creeps me out," Izy said, blinking as Rachel remarked, "I'll have you know my Gothitelle is a very beautiful specimen," Izy remarking, "Maybe in a Tim Bartok production."

With that, Rachel fumed and had the gothic woman sent a bolt of dark energy known as Psyshock toward Scyther, the bug groaning in pain before shaking it off, Izy mouthing a command, Rachel rather confused by what she'd just mouthed. With that, Scyther charged at Gothitelle, unleashing an X-Scissor and putting a gash on her chest, causing a bit of blood to form. It was a good thing bug type attacks were strong against Gothitelle.

While all of this went on, Nathan was now locked in a cell. And rather than a cage, this cell was an empty room with round, white walls and nothing more. It was as if this room was designed specifically to torment people. Luckily, the boy wasn't alone as his Pokemon had let themselves out of their balls to give him company.

"It's okay, guys," Nathan said with a light smile, "I'm sure someone will let us out," petting them all before giving them a group hug, Hanzo having a strange look in his eyes, a small sparkle forming in each. Was this... compassion?

Suddenly, Nathan's hope soon vanished when he noticed an array of guns protrude from the walls, his eyes going wide as he breathed heavily, returning his Pokemon so they wouldn't get hurt. He knew this was the end.

However, the only one who wouldn't return was Hanzo, the bug simply avoiding the beam as Nathan said, "Come on, Hanzo, now is not the time to disobey me," the bug growling when the first bullet was shot, hitting Nathan hard in the shoulder as he cried out in pain, dropping the Venipede's ball.

With that, Hanzo's eyes filled with a fire of rage as he tucked into a ball, rolling toward the gun that was about to fire, ramming into it hard and causing it to explode. Nathan stared with shock as the bug proceeded to roll alongside the rest of the wall, and since it was round, he was able to stay on it with ease.

The bug rolled around in a circle, taking down all the guns on the bottom section before rising up a bit going for the second row. He kept this up as suddenly, his body started to grow in size, turning a light shade of purple, spikes forming while he tore apart all of the guns, soon landing and stopping, revealing himself to be in a new form, Nathan's eyes going even wider.

Hanzo had become a round cocoon, with red ring-like marks all around his body. His antennae also had black stripes on it now as he had big eyes in the middle of his body. Nathan pulled out his Pokedex, discovering that Hanzo had become Whirlipede.

"Oh my god..." Nathan said, walking over to the bug and hugging him with the arm that hadn't been injured while saying, "You evolved to save my life... thank you..." only for something stranger to happen as Hanzo's body started to crack open.

At that moment, the cocoon split in two to reveal a big red caterpillar inside. He soon uncurled his body to reveal an unbelievably tall exterior, his antennae even longer with purple stripes replacing the black ones. He also had a black underbelly and two red tails, each similar to his antennae. This was the Venipede's final form, Scolipede.

"Does this mean you like me now?" Nathan asked as Scolipede nodded, his lower eyelids pushing up to represent a smile before becoming serious again, the bug glaring at the door locking them into the cell.

With that, Hanzo curled up into a ball and started spinning, only this time, saw blade-like formations appeared on his sides. This wasn't just another Rollout. This was an attack known as Steamroller. Hanzo launched himself toward the door, knocking it down in an instant as Nathan smiled at the bug before returning him, Hanzo okay with it for once.

While moving along, Jason and Dana seemed in the clear when they noticed two people entering the area they were in, moving down the halls. These were Max and Melissa, but Jason and Dana didn't quite know that. However, seeing how fast they were moving and that neither were dressed as Team Shadow agents, they decided to test their luck to assume these two were on their side.

With that, Jason stood up and said, "Hey there," the two freezing before slowly turning around, Max raising his hand in a wave-like motion before asking, "Sup?" Melissa sighing and asking, "Who are you and what were you doing behind those boxes?" Max snickering a bit as Melissa smacked him on the back of the head, the boy still grinning while saying, "Doing behind boxes..." in a silly tone, Melissa face-palming.

"We broke in to take down Team Shadow like you," Dana replied as the other two trainers narrowed their eyelids, Max saying, "You got it all wrong, man. Sabrina's a cool dude, you know? You hear what I'm saying, guy?" Dana blinking and replying, "I'm not a guy," Jason laughing nervously while saying, "Sorry, she doesn't speak hippie."

"That's cool," Max replied with a shrug as Melissa glared at the gym leader shouting, "Dude, my Pokemon are useless right now! Do something! These guys are intruders!" Max nodding before pulling out his three Pokeballs saying, "You're right. It's time to take action."

With that, Max looked over his choices and decided to go with Sawsbuck, the moose sporting the Fall look with his horns, red leaves forming an arch as the outside area was gloomy enough. Dana's eyes went wide as she squealed a bit, Jason sighing. Now was not the time for her to go fangirl over the cute buck.

Seeing as Sawsbuck was a grass type, Dana decided now would be a good time to make use of her new Dwebble, sending in Edmond as the scorpion grinned, clinging his pincers together. Max simply smiled, impressed by this choice before shouting a command, the buck leaping into the air and aiming his hooves at the bug, setting up for High Kick.

Seeing this, Edmond tucked himself into his shell, the kick doing now damage as Max whistled, rather impressed while Melissa grumbled cursed under her breath. To make things even better, the Dwebble poked his head out, clinging to the buck's ankle while biting it, Sawsbuck crying out in pain.

All the while, Rocky and Pamela were taking out a number of agents before they saw two familiar faces, Eric and Benjamin. Benjamin blinked upon seeing the two and asked, "Whoa, what are you doing here?" Eric folding his arms and replying, "They probably haven't figured out how good of a person Sabrina is yet."

"You're being tricked!" Rocky spat, Pamela nodding and saying, "Yeah, they're holding Victini hostage!"

"I know it seems cruel, but it's for the greater good," Eric remarked, "and until you realize that, we're enemies," reaching for his Pokeballs before Ben held his hand out, stating, "No, you take it easy. I'll handle this," before pulling out his own Pokeballs, sending in his Pokemon.

The first of his Pokemon was a blue golem-like creature with a patched up crack across its chest. With golden rings around its wrists and ankles, this was Golurk. He also had a bison with a huge Afro and two rings around each horn known as Bouffalant.

He also had an orange salamander with yellow skin representing pants and a scarf along with a red mo-hawk. This was known as Scrafty. Finally, his last Pokemon was a grey mouse with snow white hair longer than its body named Cinccino.

Pamela simply smiled at Rocky and suggested, "Let's take him together, shall we?" Rocky grinning and giving thumbs up before shouting, "LET'S DO IT!" both summoning their Pokemon, Pam's Tirtouga now evolved into Carracosta.

Carracosta, unlike it pre-evolutionary form, stood on two legs and was very buff. He had long blue arms and a shell-made mask covering his face. Of course, Rocky still had Throh and Sawk. These two couldn't evolve.

Izy's battle with Rachel was going rather mixed as she had managed to take down Gothitelle, but this was after Scyther fell and had to be replaced with a wasp that had two stingers for hands called Beedrill, the wasp firing a series of energy needles from her arms, using an attack called Pin Missile.

"Not bad," Rachel said, returning Gothitelle before saying, "But this battle's just started," the woman sending in a pink jellyfish with what looked like lipstick on. Atop her head was a white formation shaped like a crown and white balls of what looked like fluff surrounding her body. This was Jellicent. This would be a bit more difficult as Jellicent was strong against bug type moves.

Before Beedrill could even take action, Rachel had the jellyfish release a powerful blast of water from her mouth known as Hydro Pump, the bug soon knocked out by this, having taken in a lot of damage from Gothitelle earlier. Izy simply scowled before realizing something she could do, grinning deviously.

"You know, this isn't exactly an official fight, is it?" Izy asked as Rachel blinked and replied, "So what if it isn't?" Izy stating, "That means there's no rules," the girl hurling two balls into the area as two mice with rabbit ears appeared, one with red markings and plus signs on his cheeks and the other with blue marking and minus signs on her cheeks. These were Plusle and Minun, and these two never fought by themselves... well, at least Izy's didn't.

"Make me proud," the woman said as the two grinned, putting their hands together and unleashing a combined Spark, Jellicent taking in heavy damage from this as Rachel growled.

David had finally reached it, the room with the core extract in it. It was at this moment that Sabrina and Jeffrey were walking towards this very room along with the professor. The group had noticed the unconscious Team Shadow Agents and were starting to grow suspicious, walking as fast as they could.

Just as David was about to remove the extract, the others appeared behind him as Jeff asked, "David, what are you doing here?" David's eyes going wide as he turned and sighed, "Of course you'd have to be here, Mister Psychic."

"Hey, easy on the name-calling!" David spat, "I'm proud of that title," Sabrina asking, "Excuse me, but are you David, the Drezelburg gym leader?" David nodding and saying, "Let me guess, you're Team Shadow's leader, right?" Sabrina smiling and replying, "I didn't know I had a reputation."

"Alright, David, I respect you as a trainer, but you need to be taught a lesson," Jeff stated before pulling out his Pokeballs, David pulling out two saying, "This is hardly fair," Jeff remarking, "You should have thought of that before choosing the wrong side."

"No, I meant my Pokemon are so powerful, I should use one just for fairness," David remarked as Jeff narrowed his eyelids saying, "It is so hard to stay positive right now."

With that, Jeffrey sent in a white alien-like creature with small white, orange and red balls representing its arms and a green gelatinous body made from energy surrounding it. This was Reuniclus. His other Pokemon was a strange purple creature with a white head and pink smoke coming from a hole on its head. This was Musharna.

His last two were also alien-like creatures, only these ones were far different from Reuniclus. One was short and blue with an egg-shaped head, stubby fingers that were green, yellow and red and a black Y on its skull. This was Elgyem.

The last one was its evolved form, a pink creature with more of a rounded pyramid shaped head, its body kind of resembling a dress. This was Beheeyem.

Of course, David responded with his Hydreigon, but also added another to the mix. This dragon had a tough blue body with red spikes coming from its arms and tail. With its red head covered in points, this creature was Druddigon.

"Since I'm generous, I'll let you have the first move," David said as Jeff remarked, "Bring it on."


	24. Chapter 24

Pokemon Legacy

David was fully confident in his dragons, especially Hydreigon, who was immune to psychic attacks. However, Druddigon wasn't, and Jeffrey was going to take full advantage of that as he aimed at the oddly-coloured creature and ordered his Pokemon to aim for him with the exception of Musharna. After all, he needed one of his Pokemon to distract the three-headed nightmare.

With that, Reuniclus focused hard, a pink aura surrounding Druddigon, the dragon wincing in pain before the alien proceeded to clench his fists, sending a fierce Sucker Punch to his cheek. Hydreigon attempted to intervene only for Musharna to form a black ball from the smoke coming from her head, sending it flying into Hydreigon's chest, the dragon grunting while backing up a little bit.

As Druddigon's claws spawned a dark aura around them, the dragon sending them toward Reuniclus, Elgyem and Beheeyem both unleashed Psychic, causing him great internal pain. This was looking really difficult now, Jeff smiling and saying, "So, what was that about your Pokemon being more than enough to handle four opponents at once?" David narrowing his eyelids.

While this went on, Sabrina simply clapped, really into the battle right now. In fact, she was so into it that she rose her fist sideways, smacking the professor in the cheek, his glasses coming off as he knelt down to find them.

Rachel was about to rip out her hair as Plusle and Minun defeated her Jellicent with a combined Thunder attack, the woman returning her while fuming. Luckily, she had managed to deal a descent amount of damage to the two as she grinned with confidence, sending in what looked like a chandelier with two round yellow eyes. It also had blue flames coming from its candle holders, which were black while the head was silver. This was known as Chandelure.

The ornament immediately unleashed a huge burst of blue flames toward the rodents known as Overheat, the two taking in the flame and passing out, Izy returning them and asking, "Isn't that kind of a waste?"

"I don't follow," Rachel replied as Izy sighed, "Overheat lowers the special defense of whoever uses it," Rachel's eyes going wide as she spat, "You're lying!" Izy shaking her head as Rachel looked up at Chandelure who shrugged and nodded, Rachel feeling really stupid now.

However, Rachel then realized something else she could do as she spat, "Right, you cheated with those mouse things, so I'm gonna cheat too!" sending in her last Pokemon, a Cofagrigus.

Izy simply shrugged and said, "Well, here's hoping for good results," sending out her last two Pokemon. One was Noctowl, of course, while the second was a grey bat-like creature with small wings that looked more like the sides of a kite and the arms, claws and tail of a scorpion. This Pokemon was known as Gliscor.

"Okay, seriously, where did you get all these Pokemon?" Izy shrugging and replying, "The Celtia region," Rachel blinking and saying, "That is so cool... I heard that region has the most Pokemon species on the planet," Izy nodding and replying, "It's true. We got families from Kanto, Johto, Sinnoh and Hoenn all in one big continent."

With that, the battle resumed while off in another area, Jacob and Sampson were both down to their last Pokemon. As was expected, Jacob's last Pokemon was Lucario, the dog breathing heavily while Sampson was down to Absol, the wolf trying to keep his composure.

"I have to say, I'm impressed," Jacob said with a grin, "That Trapinch went down so easily, I figured the others would fall just from my numbers alone," Trapinch lying on his eyes, his mouth hanging open while his stubby legs twitched.

"Yeah, you're just as powerful as ever, though," Sampson replied with a smile, "It's a shame we had to meet under such circumstances or I would have been willing to have a proper battle with you instead of an all-out brawl."

With that, he looked at Absol as the wolf mustered up the strength to charge at Lucario, his horn turning violet as he prepared for Psycho Cut. However, Lucario's eyes started to glow as he cupped his hands together, a big ball of energy forming as Sampson's eyes widened, the man knowing exactly what was coming.

With that, Lucario threw his cupped hands forward, unleashing a big stream of energy, the blast of power hitting Absol hard as the wolf howled in pain, flying into the wall behind Sampson as Lucario barely managed to stay standing. Aura Storm always took so much out of him, and despite years of training, it was still pure luck that allowed him to use it.

With that, Jacob walked over to the dog, holding him up as Sampson let out a sigh, returning Absol and saying, "If I still had Spiritomb, I probably would have won," before tipping his head to Jacob and taking off before Jacob could even say anything to him.

At that moment, Nathan returned to this particular area after finding the healing bay in the basement for his Pokemon as Jacob blinked, his eyes going wide as he said, "Wow, I'm really impressed. How'd you break out of your cell?" Nathan shrugging and asking, "Does it matter?" Jacob nodding and replying, "You're right. We should probably go see how we can help out more."

"Hold up, your dog thing doesn't look so good," Nathan replied, pointing at Lucario then at yet another healing room. After all, every floor had one in case the agents needed to have their Pokemon recovered.

Meanwhile, on the top floor, Amanda and Chelsea were looking around the base before entering Sabrina's office. Luckily, Sabrina was busy watching David and Jeffrey's battle, so this was fair game as Amanda noticed a book on the desk, walking over to it with curiosity.

"There's nothing here," Chelsea said with a sigh, "Just a bunch of drawers..." then looking at the drawers, her curiosity sparked as she opened it up, noticing a ton of Pokeballs within the cabinet.

"My god... these must be all the stolen Pokemon..." Chelsea stated, breathing heavily before taking a certain set out, each with a fridge magnet representing a flame attached. Her eyes were wide with shock, realizing right away that these were Tabitha's Pokemon.

With that, she immediately let them out, the three looking up at her and running over to the woman, hugging her while tears ran down their faces, the creatures bawling all the while. Chelsea smiled motherly while petting them, knowing exactly what they must have been going through, having just lost their owner and all. Even Darmanitan's strong grip crushing her a bit didn't matter right now.

Amanda was too distracted by the book, but since she couldn't read, she simply looked at the pretty drawings inside as Chelsea asked, "Whatcha lookin at?" Amanda replying, "I'm not sure, but it looks like the owner of the book is the one who wrote in it."

Chelsea then let go of the fire Pokemon, looking at the book and saying, "This is a diary. You shouldn't be reading..." before looking at it saying, "Oh my god, it's their boss's diary. You hit the jackpot," the woman squealing childishly before looking it over.

With that, the gym leader looked over a few passages, finding a particular one that peaked her interest from Sabrina's middle school years, reading aloud, "Dear Diary, Jim is so dreamy! His smile, his hair, his love of cute Pokemon... it's so perfect! Today, I... I think he smiled at me!"

Amanda giggled in response to this saying, "That's cute," Chelsea replying, "I know, right?" before reading onward, stating the words written a couple of months after the previous entry, "Dear Diary, I am so going to ask Jim out tomorrow. No more holding back. I want him for my own... after all, if I can't have actual friends, I may as well have a boyfriend, right?"

"Aw, she had no friends?" Amanda asked, Chelsea nodding at the younger girl who added, "That's so sad."

Chelsea continued to read farther, seeing entries about how Sabrina hadn't mustered up the courage until prom came around. Unfortunately for her, Jim had already found himself a prom date, so he was unable to go with her. However, judging by the words written, Sabrina took it well... judging by the picture she'd drawn however, she didn't, as the image was of her ripping Jim's head off and drinking his blood. Chelsea and Amanda winced at this, but at the same time understood how she must have felt. After all, most had trouble dealing with rejection the first time around.

During this time, Dana was now having trouble as Edmond had taken in a lot of damage from Sawsbuck, currently being hit by a green ball of energy simply called Energy Ball. However, he was still going, but barely as the buck charged at him, his horns lowered.

Dana bit her lip and was just about ready to return the scorpion when the Dwebble fumed, gritting his teeth and letting out a battle cry, crossing his claws and blocking the incoming horns, causing Sawsbuck to back up a bit, the X-Scissor distracting him. Then the strangest thing happened as the Dwebble's shell started to expand in size, now resembling a huge block of stone and covering more than just his back.

But that was just the cream of the crop as his claws became bigger, the ends turning brown and longer, two claws now on each hand as opposed to one. His eyes also became a lot more intimidating as he had just evolved into Crustle.

Dana's eyes sparkled as she squealed excitedly, Jason breathing a sigh of relief while Edmond conjured up a huge rock, Max and Melissa's eyes going with with terror as Sawsbuck's jaw dropped, Edmond hurling the boulder towards him. As it hit, Sawsbuck coughed out a tooth, his jaw now bleeding as he passed out, his tongue sticking out as his body twitched, Max returning him.

"Wow, that was awesome..." Max said with admiration before pulling out a Pokeball and adding, "But it's not over yet," returning his Sawsbuck before sending in Maractus.

Unfortunately for Dana, Edmond didn't seem like he could take much more as Dana said, "Excellent job," returning him with a sweet smile on her face before sending in Queen. Now Jason was confused. Why not send in Pyro? The truth was that Dana had a very good reason for this. She was saving Pyro as a last-minute resort. This kind of patience wasn't exactly common for her, so if Jason knew this, he would have been impressed.

Unfortunately, things weren't going so well for Pamela and Rocky as Golurk was currently holding up both Throh and Sawk by their heads, Bouffalant charging toward them, ramming a horn in each one's back as they winced in pain. While this went on, Swanna and Carracosta were both doing a descent job again Scrafty and Cinccino, Swanna ramming her beak into Scrafty, using Brave Bird while Carracosta fired a stream of water known as Brine at Cinccino, the female gym leader giving Rocky thumbs up, ready to help him.

But when her Pokemon turned around to assist the man's Pokemon, Scrafty and Cinccino grinned at one-another, revealing that they'd been playing possum the whole time Cinccino picking his salamander buddy up and hurling him at the two while Scrafty aimed his leg forward, delivering a high kick to the back of Carracosta's head, the tortoise crying in pain and coughing up a bit of blood, Benjamin smiling and saying, "Good thinking, you two," Scrafty then delivering Brick Break to Swanna's neck, the swan falling on her side. After all, her neck was her most vulnerable spot.

However, after taking in another Megahorn to the back, Throh and Sawk started to lose patience as they spun their bodies around, managing to free themselves from Golurk's grip, Rocky shouting, "ALRIGHT, REVENGE TIME!" Sawk sending a fierce chop to the golem's midsection, Golurk groaning in pain while Throh took advantage of this, grabbing onto Bouffalant's horns and lifting the bison up, leaning backwards and hurling him hard into Golurk's chest.

Despite his Afro providing some protection, Bouffalant was in far too much pain after this as Throw and Sawk charged at Golurk for a team attack. However, the golem recovered from the damage dealt as Ben gave him a command, the golem slamming his feet against the ground and causing an Earthquake.

Scrafty and Cinccino were more than prepared for this as they leaped up toward the wall, clinging to it while Throh, Sawk and Carracosta took in damage, Swanna getting off rather easy as she was, after all, a flying type. However, this had gotten truly annoying now as Pamela lost her temper for the first time in her life shouting, "ALRIGHT, THAT DOES IT! SWANNA, CARRACOSTA, USE THAT TEAM ATTACK I TAUGHT YOU!"

Hearing this, the two went wide-eyed before grinning and looking at Scrafty and Cinccino, Swanna hitting Scrafty with Air Slash and finishing him off before Carracosta used finished Cinccino with Hydro Pump, the two giving each other a high-five before rushing toward Golurk. However, Bouffalant recovered just in time to charge at them, Swanna flapping in front of his face to distract him while Golurk went behind the buffalo.

Rocky watched with intent as Carracosta leaped onto Bouffalant's back, forcing all of his weight on the bovine Pokemon as he started to fall, Swanna clutching onto his neck with her talons and thrusting them downward, making the bison's collision with the ground more painful. Just as Golurk was about to attack Throh and Sawk, both of which were distracted by this, Carracosta proceeded to shoot a stream of water into the rock creature's face, charging into him and wrapping his arms around the beast.

"Now it's time for the German Suplex!" Pamela exclaimed, Rocky's eyes going wide as he thought, 'She's a wrestling fan?' the tortoise leaning backwards as he then realized something he could do, shouting a command of his own leaped toward Golurk, wrapping his arm around its neck before Sawk delivered a karate chop to the back of its head, all three sending its head hard into the ground, Golurk out for good.

Benjamin stared in shock as Eric sighed, "I guess it's time to take matters into my own hands," Ben returning his Pokemon and saying, "Go for it."

However, before Eric could issue the challenge, he noticed Rocky run over to Pamela, holding her hands with his eyes sparkling and said, "After all these years of searching, I have found my one true love," kissing her hand as Pam blushed intensely, giggling and exclaiming, "Oh, stop it, you big lug!"

Eric fumed and spat, "THAT'S ENOUGH!" the two staring as he sighed, "Sorry, that was very touching, but did you forget that I'm still here?" Pamela and Rocky glaring as the man was about to send in his Pokemon only for a window to shatter, a 15-year-old girl with short red hair, a black sleeveless shirt and black shorts entering, scowling while shouting, "WHERE IS SHE!"

"Tammy?" Eric asked, the others staring as well as Benjamin asked, "Who?" Eric replying, "Tabitha's sister," Ben nodding in understanding.

Tammy then looked at Eric and asked, "Do any of you know where this Sabrina person is?" Eric blinking and asking, "Not sure if she's still in her office or not, but why do you want to see her?" Tammy retorting, "I want to kick her ass, that's why!"

Seeing the fury in her expression and the tears running down her face, Eric figured this was more than just her believing 'false tales' and asked, "Why would you want to do that?" Tammy retorting, "You should know, seeing as you're working for that bitch!" Eric remarking, "She's not a... um... b-word. She's only looking out for the..."

"SHE KILLED MY SISTER!" Tammy interrupted, fuming all the while as Benjamin and Eric stared in shock, the two asking, "Is this true?" as Rocky nodded and asked, "You didn't know that?" Eric shaking his head and replying, "No. Sabrina told us she quit and moved back to her gym."

"Yae was talking on the phone with her at noon today," Pamela explained, "After a while, she heard a strange silence on her end followed by a gun shot. Next thing she knew, someone else picked up the phone and spoke in Tabitha's place. Now try putting two and two together."

With that, Eric and Benjamin stared in shock, both looking down in shame. They had been fighting for the wrong side all along.

But things got even more shocking as Chelsea read more and more of Sabrina's diary, soon entering her high school years as written down were all kinds of passages about how lonely Sabrina was. The writing kept going on and on about how she had no friends no matter what she tried. For some reason, everyone just kept avoiding her.

"They're probably just jealous of me," some passages said while other stated, "Maybe I'm just a freak. Perhaps I should start trying to conform to the latest trends."

Eventually, one passage indicated that she had done that, but no one respected her for it as it came across as a desperate attempt at being popular. Sabrina, of course, mistook this for them just being biased against her. Chelsea and Amanda felt so much pity for the woman right now. It really sounded like she didn't deserve this horrid treatment. What had she done to earn herself such a horrible reputation?

However, Amanda noticed a page torn out near the beginning of the diary, Chelsea then curiously digging through the woman's desk, eventually finding the missing page. Her eyes went wide as she read, "Dear Diary, I have truly screwed up today. I stupidly released the caged up Krookodile that had been brought to school for studying. I thought it would like some fresh air... I didn't know it would wreck havoc or slaughter the Kindergarten Teacher. I didn't think it would put its own tamer in a hospital. Most of all, I didn't know it would eat my best friend, Melody."

Amanda and Chelsea cringed while Chelsea slowly finished off with, "I'm not surprised to find that everyone hates me for doing this," a picture of younger Sabrina crying her eyes out attached to this, the page even stained in a liquid, most likely tears.


	25. Chapter 25

Pokemon Legacy

Dana's battle right now wasn't going so well as Queen took in Needle Arm followed by an onslaught of exploding needles known as Pin Missile. Sure, these attacks didn't do a whole lot to bug types, but it still hurt, Queen bleeding all over.

But as Maractus went in to deliver a Sucker Punch, the Galvantula scowled and sent out a Multicoloured beam from her mouth called Signal Beam into the cactus's gut. Maractus winced in pain before flying into a wall, Max staring with admiration as Melissa groaned.

However, despite the incredible damage dealt by this, Maractus managed to recover, shaking her head before sending a torrent of pedals forward, the pedals cutting up Queen's body as Dana gasped, quickly returning her before more could be done. That was just too many cuts for her to bare. However, she needed to win this, and as such she sent in Pyro, the fire pig flexing as Melissa groaned with disappointment. She'd figured maybe the girl didn't have a fire type since she kept choosing bugs.

Before Maractus could even try to fight back, Pyro unleashed a quick Ember, knocking the cactus out for good as Max sighed, "Bummer," returning the cactus and saying, "Well, it's up to you now," sending in Ferrothorn.

Jason grinned and said, "You couldn't have gotten a better opponent right now," Dana blinking and asking, "What do you mean?" as Jason sighed, "That's a grass and steel type. That means fire type moves are even more effective against it," Dana smiling wide before nodding.

Luckily, this wasn't technically a gym battle, meaning Jason could legally give her advice. Melissa was actually quite scared now that the girl knew this, but Max seemed confident... either that, or he was really enjoying this battle and couldn't have cared less about the result.

All the while, Anna and Janette were in the clear as they noticed David and Jeff fighting, figuring he had things covered while hiding behind a generator nearby. What that was doing out in the hallway was anyone's guess.

Things had started to improve for David as Druddigon had unleashed Outrage, a move that filled him up with intense energy as he struck his opponents multiple times. Reuniclus, Elgyem and Beheeyem were taking in extreme pain now. During this, Hydreigon was using the same move on Musharna, only he was shooting various flames at the creature. However, just as it seemed they'd almost won, their adrenalin rush ended as they started to look disoriented, David grimacing and thinking, 'Dammit, that should have finished the job!'

The major side effect to Outrage was that unless it won the battle for good, the user would end up confused. Needless to say, Jeffrey took full advantage of this by having his Pokemon send powerful psychic attacks at them, the dragons hitting themselves each time they tried to fight back.

After having their Pokemon healed, Nathan and Jacob were wandering the halls as Nathan asked, "Are you sure we shouldn't be running right now?" Jacob smiling and replying, "I'm sure the others are fine without us right now."

While the man stroked Lucario, Nathan looked at this with interest, trying not to show it before asking, "So, what's up with that Lucario of yours anyway? Why don't you keep him in a Pokeball?" Jacob shrugging before replying, "For starters, he hates the inside of Pokeballs. I put him in one once and he didn't like it one bit. Besides, he's my best friend and partner. It would be cruel to force him to do what he doesn't want to do," Lucario nuzzling his cheek up against Jacob's.

Nathan nodded, though wondered why Sammy had no trouble being in a Pokeball. However, another question came to mind right now as he asked, "Say, how is it that you and your Lucario defeated Giratina? I know Lucario's probably really tough, but he's kind of, well, normal."

Lucario folded his arms as Jacob chuckled, "Well, he wasn't back then. See, he was sent to me in the form of an egg by the legendary Darkrai."

Nathan's eyes went wide. He couldn't even fake disinterest if he wanted to now as Jacob laughed a bit before adding, "Supposedly, he was meant to be a last resort in battling the forces of evil if ever the other legends failed, and this was due to a special power he had in which he could use attacks that he wouldn't normally be able to learn at four times their usual strength. Neither of us really knew how to properly control it until our battle with Giratina."

"So you defeated him using that," Nathan stated as Jacob sighed, "Actually, it worked for a while, but then Lucario made a very foolish mistake. He used Self Destruct," Lucario looking down as Jacob sighed, "Come on, you weren't even half-a-year old, buddy," Lucario nodding, still feeling ashamed of himself.

"So at four times the strength..." Nathan started as Jacob cut in stating, "Naturally, Lucario quite literally blew himself up. Only his tail was left, and Giratina was still moving as he retreated to the distortion world. Luckily, Lucario's spirit merged with me and I was able to use his power to take down the monster."

"And Lucario came back to life, I take it," Nathan replied, pointing at Lucario as Jacob nodded and replied, "Yes, he did, but it was at a cost. See, the legendary hedgehog, Shaymin, sacrificed herself to bring him back."

"I heard she died during that battle," Nathan replied, "I would have never imagined it was on her own accord," Jacob nodding and replying, "Yeah, when Lucario was reborn as a Riolu, he'd lost all his memory. He seemed to still have an attachment towards me, but that was about it. It wasn't until he evolved into Lucario again that all of his memories returned."

"Wow..." Nathan replied, his eyes wide with shock, "I mean, really, wow, that's some very deep stuff. I thought my past was full of hardships, but man..."

At that moment, the two ended up where Izy was just finishing her battle with Rachel. Gliscor had managed to take down Chandelure with X-Scissor as Noctowl finished off Cofagrigus with a fierce headbutt powered by a blue aura known as Zen Headbutt.

With that, Izy returned her Pokemon as Rachel lowered her head, sighing, "Well, I guess you were just too good for me," Izy saying, "Well, you almost beat me," Rachel smiling and shaking her hand saying, "Yes, I did come close, didn't I?"

Jacob then approached his wife, patting her on the shoulder and saying, "That's my girl," Izy grinning and facing her husband before saying, "I take it you dealt with Sampson?" Jacob nodding as Izy kissed him on the cheek saying, "I knew you would."

Then noticing Nathan standing there, Izy put on a look of fake disappointment as she groaned, "Oh, I thought we were gonna save Nathan together, honey-pumpkin," Jacob laughing before replying, "He got out on his own," Nathan shrugging and stating, "Sorry to disappoint," Izy feeling rather impressed by this.

During all of this, Chelsea and Amanda were off to find Sabrina when they walked right by one of the labs, Amanda's eyes going wide when she saw Victini trapped in his capsule, the girl walking over with worry and said, "You poor little guy," Chelsea's eyes sparkling as she said, "Let's free this poor thing," Amanda nodding.

With that, the two tried pulling on the door, finding that it was open. Clearly, security here could have been better. With that, the two opened up the capsule, releasing the legend. Unfortunately, Victini still needed to recover his strength, so Amanda decided to carry him over her shoulders.

All the while, Dana was finding her battle harder than expected once again as Ferrothorn fired a ball of silver energy into Pyro, the Pignite squealing in pain. Dana bit her lip as she was about to give a command only for the spinning disc to latch two of his vines around the pig's arms, having the other ram its metal end into the pig's face, his snout bleeding a bit.

However, just as all seemed lost, Dana noticed the overconfident look on Ferrothorn's eyes and shouted, "PYRO, USE FLAME THROWER!" the pig grinning and releasing a stream of flames from his nostrils.

However, Max seemed to have seen this coming as he had Ferrothorn block it with the metal end of his vine. However, Pyro focused extra hard, making the flame bigger as sections of it passed right by the vine, running hard into the metal saucer, his eyes going wide as he took in fierce damage, releasing his hold on Pyro and rotating back and forth before falling to the ground, his eyes closed.

"ALRIGHT!" Jason exclaimed, raising his fist in the air as Dana let out a sigh of relief, Pyro grinning and flexing before losing consciousness, passing out while Dana let out a sigh and returned him, a warm smile soon following. That extra-powerful Flamethrower must have used up a lot of Pyro's energy.

"Dude, that was awesome," Max replied, his eyes wide open as he reached into his pocket pulling out a badge and saying, "You totally deserve this, man," handing it to Dana who simply giggled, now rather amused by Max's mannerisms.

However, Melissa wasn't willing to accept this as she walked up to Max, reaching into his pocket and pulling out the white orb saying, "We have a job to do," taking off as Max nodded saying, "Right, I totally forgot about that. Thanks for the heads-up, dude."

"Wait..." Jason said, his eyes wide open and his jaw dropped before he added, "Was that the white orb we were supposed to keep away from the black one?" Dana clasping her hands over her mouth and exclaiming, "Oh my gosh, it totally is!"

At that moment, Jacob, Nathan and Izy arrived in the area, Dana and Jason sighing with relief. At least they weren't alone.

Soon enough, just about everyone had reached the area where David and Jeff were still having their fight, both sides looking rather beaten at this point. This battle had gone on a lot longer than planned.

However, it finally came to an end when David had Hydreigon use Dragon Pulse while Druddigon used a big Dragon Claw, all four of Jeff's Pokemon finally falling as he sighed, returning them and saying, "Well, I hope you're pleased," as the others watching cheered, Sabrina's eyes going wide as she turned to see them before groaning, "They've been here most of the time, haven't they?" the professor nodding before replying, "Quite."

At that moment, Tammy charged toward Sabrina shouting, "I'VE FINALLY FOUND YOU, YOU BITCH!" but just as she was about to tackle the woman, Amanda and Chelsea entered the area and shouted, "STOP!" everyone turning to face them.

"Oh, hey guys," Eric said as Benjamin asked, "Why should we stop? This woman's been lying to us," as Chelsea was about to add more to it when Max and Melissa entered the area, Sabrina smiling and asking, "Did you bring the goods?"

"Don't give her the orb," Max remarked, Jeff rather confused by this as Melissa grunted, "Why not! It was Hell getting it here!" Benjamin adding, "Sabrina's a liar. Tabitha didn't leave to return home. Sabrina killed her," Max's eyes going wide as he said, "Dude, that's cold..." Melissa equally appalled right now.

Sabrina then sniffed and remarked, "You people wouldn't understand!" Tammy retorting, "What's to understand? My sister was the nicest person in the whole world and you shot her!" Sabrina breathing heavily as Chelsea and Amanda were about to say more only for Melissa and Sabrina's pockets to glow, the orbs coming out of them right when Nathan and the others arrived as well, their eyes going wide when they realized they were too late.

Everyone stared, Sabrina rather confused as she didn't know about the dragons being inside the orbs. With that, both floated in front of each other for a while, David signalling everyone to back up knowing they'd probably get crushed once the orbs came open. After a few seconds, both balls shattered into tiny fragments as the dragons took form, Sabrina's eyes sparkling as everyone else stared with absolute horror.

The white dragon, Reshiram, stood tall and proud with his body almost shaped like that of a bird. Around his long slender neck where snow white rings to match with the fur covering his body flowing white hair going down his back. He also had a tail shaped a bit like a cone with two rings surrounding it, and his face resembled that of a wolf.

The black dragon, Zekrom, had a pointed bit of skin coming out the back of his head with a blue tip on the end. His eyes were blood red and his entire body almost looked metallic. His tail was even more like a cone and had a spiked collar on the end of it. He had big black wings and around his hands were what resembled big wrist guards, so big that they actually went over his hands.

As the two dragons stood there, David grimaced and spat, "Guys, don't let Sabrina use the core extract!" but before anyone could take action, two small fragments of the extract rose up, the dragons staring with absolute terror as the element inserted itself into their backs, the dragons turning toward Sabrina as she whistled and said, "Wow, that didn't take very much extract at all. This stuff's more powerful than I thought."

Slowly looking up, Victini had a look of fear on his face as he knew just how bad things had gotten. After all, this same thing had happened quite a few years ago.

"Alright, my pets, dispose of these people immediately!" pointing at the trainers, all of them freaking out as Reshiram and Zekrom turned toward Sabrina, scowling as Sabrina spat, "Did you hear me? Attack them!"

However, Zekrom immediately fired a bolt of electricity towards the woman, Sabrina barely dodging as everyone else started to freak out as well, Reshiram sending a flame toward the woman as Chelsea immediately tackled her, both falling on the floor and out of the way of the attack. At that moment, Chelsea allowed her to rise as Sabrina trembled asking, "Why won't they listen to me?" David remarking, "If you were paying attention, you'd have noticed that the core extract came to them. You had nothing to do with that. They're not gonna listen to you."

With that, the dragons started ravaging the entire building as everyone realized now would be a horrible time to fight back, fleeing for their lives as they leaped out of the open windows. Amanda managed to have her birds help a few out while others got hurt while landing but still came out of it in one piece. Either way, the building started to collapse as Sabrina stared in shock. There were still a ton of unconscious Team Shadow agents in there.

She was relieved to see those on the first and second floors waking up in time to evacuate, however, only about two thirds of her men had escaped. The other third had been crushed, most likely killed.

"What have I done?" Sabrina asked as the dragons rose up from the debris, letting out loud roars as everyone glared at Sabrina, the woman then pulling out her gun, Nathan asking, "Are you gonna kill us all or something?"

"No..." Sabrina replied, letting down tears before holding her gun up to her head, "I'm going to do the world a favour," everyone staring in horror. As bad of a person as Sabrina was, suicide wasn't the answer.

At that moment, Amanda ran over to her shouting, "STOP!" tackling the girl as the gun flew out of her hand, Melissa catching it in time to stop it from hitting the ground and potentially going off.

"Why are you stopping me?" Sabrina sniffed, "I'm a horrible person!" Chelsea walking over and replying, "Look, Sabrina, we know all about your reasons. You spent most of your life with no friends, and when Tabitha tried to leave you, it felt like losing another one to you, am I right?"

Sabrina sniffed, not even caring about the fact that the gym leader had so obviously read her diary, everyone else rather shocked to hear this as Chelsea added, "Look, lacking friends is a terrible feeling, but you can't solve it by threatening mankind with the legendary dragons... assuming that's what you were going to do..."

"What the hell is she going on about?" Jason asked as Dana put her hand over his mouth, Nathan also rather interested, the dragons too busy spazzing out as Sabrina took a good look at Chelsea and said, "Hey, I know you..."

Chelsea blinked and asked, "Really?" Sabrina nodding and replying, "Yeah, we went to high school together."

Everyone stared wide-eyed as Chelsea looked confused, Sabrina adding, "Yeah, I wanted you as my partner for the big Science project, figuring since you were smart and new, you could help me. You turned me down all because of what everyone else said about me," Chelsea gasping, "Oh my god, you're that Sabrina!"

After a while, the girl let out a sigh and stated, "I didn't turn you down because I didn't trust you. It was because I already had a partner and felt it would be unfair for him," Sabrina's eyes going wide as Chelsea knelt down and gave the woman a hug saying, "Come on, it's not too late for you to turn things around."

With that, Sabrina sniffed and hugged her back as Jason narrowed his eyelids saying, "Look, this is very touching, but shouldn't we be doing something!" Amanda nodding and saying, "That's right, we have to stop those dragons before they cause any more damage."

But it was anyone's guess just how hard this would be. After all, these were the most powerful creatures in the region. Could they really be stopped?


	26. Chapter 26

Pokemon Legacy

Just as everyone was ready to go in and fight, the dragons eventually lost so much control of themselves that they started hurling chunks of debris all over the place. Most people managed to dodge it but Dana ended up tripping, falling flat on her face as everyone stared in shock, Nathan running toward her.

Unfortunately, he didn't make it in time, and yet somehow Dana seemed fine. She had her arm up defensively, bracing for the impact, and yet nothing happened. He eyes slowly opened as she noticed the reason, a big smiling forming. Her Pignite had come out of his ball and was now using his arms to keep the fragment up, turning to smiling at her.

Nathan then proceeded to take the girl's arm saying, "Thanks, Pyro," pulling her away as Dana smiled, saying, "Thank you for pulling me out of the way," Jason nodding and saying, "It's a good thing he did. Look."

Everyone stared and noticed Pyro really struggling to hold up the fragment, but before anyone could go in and help, a strange feeling came over the pig. His body started to expand a bit, bit black eyebrows shaped like jets of fire forming. A scarf of flames formed around his neck as his forearms sprouted black fur and also expanded in size. A belt of fur also formed around his waist, gold S-shaped things forming and representing a championship belt. His tail also became black, his ankles sprouting fur as well as he had become Emboar.

"This is so cool!" Dana squealed as the boar grinned with pride, hurling the chunk of rock into Zekrom's face, the dragon staring with fury in his expression. Reshiram soon followed, the two advancing toward the pig as Dana instinctively sent all of her other Pokemon into the battle.

Jason saw this and sent in his monkeys before pulling the elemental stones out of his pocket and saying, "Alright, guys, this is gonna be big. Are you ready to be of use?" the monkeys nodding, Steve actually caring quite a bit. After all, these dragons were pretty scary-looking.

During all of this, the Team Shadow agents who had survived had gone into the rest of the town to evacuate their friends and families, even some of those they didn't know. Sampson was about to join them when Jacob asked, "Are you doing something good for humanity?" the man sighing and shaking his head before saying, "Unless those dragons are under my control, I'm not gonna let them kill civilians."

Nathan sent in his allies as well, Jason and Dana staring with shock at the sight of Hanzo as Jason asked, "When did he evolve twice?" Nathan stating, "While I was locked in a cell. That was a fun time. You should have been there."

Max and Melissa weren't helping the others right now as they were in the forest trying to pry the chains they'd created off of the Kami Trio, Thundurus saying, "I do say, this is a most pleasant surprise," Tornadus asking, "What's the catch?" Melissa remarking, "Reshiram and Zekrom have gone rogue, that's what!" the gods's eyes going wide.

At this moment, Jacob, Izy, Anna and Janette has also sent in their Pokemon. The rest of Anna's team consisted of a boulder with four arms called Graveler, a big green dinosaur called Tyranitar, a grey dinosaur with a blue skull known as Rampardos, a dinosaur with a bug-like head and pincers called Armaldo and a huge totem head referred to as Nosepass.

Janette also had four others to go with her Aerodactyl and Scarmory. She also had an electric wolf with blue and black fur named Luxray, a huge tortoise with the makings of an island on her back called Torterra, a purple starfish called Starmie and a purple moth known as Dustox.

With that, Jason looked at the stones and said, "I'm not sure how to use these..." before rashly shoving one down each monkey's throat, the monkeys gulping them down. Luckily, all the stones really had to do was touch them, and this more or less counted.

Mighty's broccoli-shaped fur formation was soon replaced by a big pompadour, his arms and legs growing a bit longer. His tail also stood up more as he had become Simisage. Carmen had also gotten a bit taller as her fur formed into what resembled a dress with pointed edges at the bottom. Her broccoli-shaped fur formation changed into beautiful locks of hair like that of a human girl. She had become Simipour.

Jason's eyes sparkled when he saw this. Carmen was so pretty and Mighty was so cool-looking. He couldn't wait to see Steve's new form, and it wouldn't be long as the monkey's body became more pear-shaped. His facial expression had a more naturally innocent look to it and his tail represented a cloud of smoke. The fur atop his head also resembled more of a bonfire.

The others stared, Jason a tad disappointed as this was the least impressive of the transformations, but he refused to show it as he gave his new Simisear thumbs up saying, "You look great," Steve folding his arms as the other two monkeys laughed at him, soon looking at each other, their eyes sparkling as big smiles formed on their faces.

Jacob clearly had the upper hand here as his Pokemon had actually been healed, same with Nathan. Still, this wasn't going to be easy. Luckily, all of the gym leaders and elite four members still in the area joined in despite the condition their Pokemon were in, Amanda sending in a flying type that no one had yet seen. He was a dinosaur-like creature with green scales going down his backside and red going down his front. At the end of his tail was a tuft of blue feathers, green ones around his ankles. He also had brownish-yellow feathers around his torso and more blue ones coming from his arms. This creature was Archeops.

With that, the dragons each unleashed an attack, the group dodging before going at them with all they had. With all their numbers, surely the dragons would be too overwhelmed to fight back. This filled Sabrina with hope as maybe her mistake could be fixed.

Unfortunately, most of the gym Pokemon belonged to the gym leaders and Elite 4 were in terrible condition after their battles earlier and as such went down rather easily. However, Nathan could see the looks in their eyes, knowing they didn't want to do this. They were simply being manipulated by the core inside of them.

The gym leaders and Elite 4 members quickly returned their Pokemon David cursing, "Dammit. If we hadn't been fighting each other, we could have won this," Pamela saying, "Chin up, man. Don't forget, we haven't lost everyone yet."

This was true as Amanda and Chelsea, who hadn't fought earlier, were still going. Archeops started things off by striking Reshiram's head with his talons, using Dragon Claw. Luckily, dragon types were weak against their own kind, so this dealt a lot of damage as the white dragon roared in pain. Braviary proceeded to strike Zekrom with Brave Bird while Mandibuzz unleashed a blast of energy called Dark Pulse from inside her beak as Zekrom as well.

Klinklang's gears spun around as the metal being released a blast of electricity called Zap cannon into Reshiram, Elektross using Flash Cannon on Zekrom. All the while, Durant attempted to use climb up Reshiram's back, opened up his jaws for Guillotine. This was a move that defeated any Pokemon in one hit no matter how powerful it was.

However, Zekrom recovered from his damage quickly, picking the metal ant off of Reshiram's neck and hurling him into the ground, stomping on him as Chelsea gasped in terror, everyone else staring as she saw the ant attempting to crawl back to her only for Zekrom to step on him, causing his metal to fly in various direction, oil splattering out.

Silence filled the area as soon, the other five Pokemon fell too, soon being returned, tears filling Chelsea's eyes. She knew exactly what had just happened. Her Durant was dead.

"No..." Chelsea sniffed, Sabrina hugging her and saying, "I know what it's like to lose a friend..." Chelsea nodding and replying, "I know you do..." Tammy no longer spiteful toward Sabrina. Sure, she'd done terrible things, but she didn't seem like such a bad person now.

Seeing this, Jason frowned, gritting his teeth and shouting, "ALRIGHT, GUYS, LET'S SHOW THESE FREAKS NO MERCY!" the monkeys nodding before scowling at the dragons, leaping toward them as Dana exclaimed, "Wait for us!" her Pokemon going in as well, Nathan's soon following close behind, the boy unable to hide his concern at this point.

Janette, Anna, Jacob and Izy also sent their Pokemon in, the dragons a tad unprepared for this as they were soon buffeted by an array of powerful blows. Steven unleashed a big Overheat upon Zekrom, Mighty puffing his cheeks up, his body starting to glow. Carmen distracted the dragon with Hydro Pump while Mighty soon opened his mouth wide, unleashing a bright blast of solar energy called Solar Beam, the dragon crying out in agony.

Before Reshiram could assist his comrade, Dana cut in by having Edmond unleashed Rock Slide, the rocks ramming into him hard. King managed to conjure up a Shadow Ball, sending it flying into the white dragon's face while Queen added to this by sending Signal Beam into his chest. Pyro and Electra also added to this as Pyro hurled Electra at the beast, her body covered in electricity as she rammed hard into him, using Discharge while Pyro sent a Flamethrower from his nostrils into the dragon.

Zekrom continued to take in damage as Izy's Pokemon went in as well, Plusle and Minun hitting him hard with Thunder while Noctowl, Gliscor, Scyther and Beedrill flew into them using the close-range attacks they had. Anna's Pokemon also dealt to the damage with the best they could muster while Janette's went after Reshiram.

Jacob and Nathan then nodded at one-another, Jacob going for Zekrom while Nathan went after Reshiram. Infernape opened things up by blowing a small bit of fire from her mouth, spinning around and covering herself in a wheel of flames, ramming her body hard into Zekrom while Heracross flew in, ramming his horn into the dragon's chin. Floatzel followed this up by covering herself in water, using Aqua Jet and ramming herself into the dragon's gut, Cacturne using Pin Missile. Manectric added to the damage with Thunder as Lucario ended the onslaught with a ball of energy known as Aura Sphere, an explosion surrounding Zekrom's face.

Toby started things up with Reshiram by using Bubble Beam, Hanzo spraying poison with an attack called Venoshock, Zelda using Leaf Tornado while Wilbur used Spark. Celeste added to the damage with with Air Cutter as Sammy ended it all with Rock Slide.

Everyone grinned with confidence only to see the dragons still moving, looking as if they'd barely taken in a thing before sending lightning and fire down upon their opponents, the Pokemon soon taking in too much damage to go on, save for Sammy and Lucario who somehow ended up taking in less blows than the others. However, Nathan's allies didn't look so good either as Dana bit her lip. It seemed hopeless now.

"No..." Sabrina sniffed, tears in her eyes, "I did this..." Chelsea embracing her again and saying, "Stop beating yourself up. You didn't know any better."

Returning her Pokemon, Janette let out a sigh and pulled a medal out from under her top, Anna staring and asking, "What are you doing, honey pumpkin?" the fancy woman taking a deep breath and saying, "This medal has the power to revive Giratina. If I bring him back to life, he'll be on our side and can deal with these two."

Jacob and Izy stared in shock, Nathan also questioning this idea as Jason and Dana didn't see how this was so bad. However, just as Janette was about to recite some kind of incantation, Anna immediately jumped on her, tackling her to the ground and squealing, "NO!" Izy taking it off from around her neck.

"Why?" Janette asked, squirming to get free from her wife's grip, Jacob sighing, "You weren't there when he was summoned by Varen, I understand. But if you bring back Giratina, it'll be the biggest mistake of your life."

Janette stared in confusion as Jacob pinched his forehead, Izy explaining, "What he means is that Giratina cannot be controlled. Varen sacrificed the legends of the Celtia region in order to bring that monster to him. He tried capturing him with a Master Ball, but Giratina destroyed it and then proceeded to kill him," Anna nodded and letting down tears saying, "He took my daddy away from me. I don't want to lose you, either."

Janette let out a sigh and smiled before wrapping her arms around Anna, stroking her hair and saying, "Thank you for stopping me," Anna's eyes sparkling as the two shared a kiss, Jason not even bothering to break this moment up while Nathan stared with wide eyes asking, "Did that actually happen?" Jacob nodding and replying, "Oh yeah, Giratina was even worse of an opponent, too. If we bring him back, we'd be doomed for sure."

"If that's true, then it's even better that he doesn't join this battle," Nathan replied, "He'd probably kill those two," the others nodding. After all, it wasn't as if Zekrom and Reshiram wanted to cause all this destruction.

At that exact moment, a chopper entered the area and landed, Jack coming out and staring at all of this, seeing Sabrina in the arms of a gym leader, noticing Zekrom and Reshiram going insane, the Team Shadow building destroyed and a bunch of strangers there. He then blinked and sighed, "Can someone explain to me what's going on here?"

Sabrina looked down with shame as Nathan walked over to Jack, Jack looking at him and asking, "Oh god, did you do this?" Nathan shaking his head and replying, "No, but I would appreciate your help right now."

Jack stared, his and Dewott's eyes going wide as he put on a cross look before asking, "Why in the hell should I help you?" Nathan replying, "Because Zekrom and Reshiram are awake, they've gone insane, everyone else has failed to stop them, Sabrina unable to help, and you're the only one with his Pokemon at full strength. Also, these two could very well destroy the world if they get any more out of control."

Jack let out a sigh, slapping his forehead and groaning, "I can't believe I'm doing this!" before hurling his Pokeballs into the area, his Pokemon emerging. As soon as Sabrina saw a Krokorok among them, she freaked out, Chelsea sighing, "Don't worry, it's not the same creature that ate your friend," Sabrina nodding, still a little frightened by it.

With that, Jack had his Mienfoo use Force Palm, sending it hard into Zekrom's face as Krokorok used Crunch, biting hard into Reshiram's wrist. Zorua opened up a bunch of Fury Swiped at Zekrom's ankle as Fraxure sent Dragon pulse into the other one. Finally, Dewott and Bisharp sent at Reshiram, Bisharp ramming the spike atop his head into the dragon, using Iron Head as Dewott followed it up with Hydro Pump.

Unfortunately, the dragons once again ignored all pain, finishing off Jack's team, save for Dewott who seemed to be too spirited to admit defeat right now. Jack's eye twitched as Nathan sighed, "Don't beat yourself. We couldn't beat them either," Jack remarking, "BUT I'M BETTER THAN YOU!"

His eyes then went wide as it looked like the dragons were going to finish off Dewott, Jack fuming as he spat, "HEY, NO ONE ROUGH-HOUSES MY DEWOTT AND GETS AWAY WITH IT!" leaping in front of the otter and pushing him out of the way, Dewott and everyone else staring in absolute shock as Jack took in a fierce bolt of lightning to the back.

He then coughed up smoke, his body twitching as he grunted, "Tell Sabrina I hate her so much right now..." Dewott's eyes filling with tears as the boy passed out, closing his eyes while Dana gasped, Nathan even feeling a little bad right now. Sure, Jack had been a terrible person to him and his team mates, but he was still a person.

But as all seemed lost, Dewott let out a fierce battle cry, getting down on all fours as his blue fur became darker. His legs then expanded into the fins of a walrus, claws still at the ends of them as what looked like leg pads made of shells formed on the sides of them. His tail then became more of a triangular shape, his nose stretching outward as a big snow white moustache and beard appeared on his face. Atop his head was a seashell helmet, a horn at the end of it. Dewott had become Samurott.

Seeing this, Nathan grimaced and said, "There's still a chance we can do this," Dana and Jason running over and quickly dragging Jack away from the battle zone, Samurott smiling at the two before turning toward Zekrom sending another Hydro Pump into his face.

Before Reshiram could interfere, Sammy and Lucario proceeded to cling to him, the dragon attempting to fling them off as he turned around just enough for Nathan to see a big sky blue crystal coming out of his back. Seeing this, he knew exactly how to end this, and to make things even better, the Kami Trio had finally been freed, Melissa breathing heavily and saying, "I didn't think we'd ever get those off," Max replying, "Where there's a will, there's a way," Melissa rolling her eyes before smiling and ruffling the boy's hair.

"Me smash dragons!" Landorus spat while Thundurus sighed, "For once, the ruffian has the right idea," Tornadus adding, "Enough small talk! Let's take these boys to town!"


	27. Chapter 27

Pokemon Legacy

With that, the battle started up again as the Kami trio started things up with Thundurus and Tornadus circling the dragons's heads and distracting them long enough for Landorus to conjure up rocks from under each of them, striking them with Stone Edge. While the two were busy recovering, Thundurus proceeded to rain thunder down upon Zekrom while Tornadus his Reshiram with a Hurricane, wrapping him in a fierce wind, sending him up into the air and forcing him to land hard against the ground.

"Well, I say, old beans, this is looking rather simple for us," Thundurus said as Tornadus added, "Those humans must helped out more than we could have ever imagined."

"We smash them good now?" Landorus asked as Thundurus sighed, "You and your arrogance will be the death of me one day... no, my good lad, we turn them into orbs again."

"Wait!" Nathan spat, everyone in shock as the boy walked forward, Tornadus saying, "Son, we're kinda busy here. Let us handle the rest," Nathan shaking his head and replying, "This isn't like those years back when somebody was controlling them with core extract. It's embedded somewhere on their bodies. We just need to get it off. If you turn them into orbs again, they'll still have the extract in them and we're gonna have to try and find them again."

The gods were rather amazed by this. Clearly, this human had much more knowledge, wisdom and common sense than they did. To make things even more awkward for them, almost every other human knew this too. The only sensible solution here was to find the core extract and get it out.

"This might be more tricky than I first thought," Tornadus replied with a sigh, "but he's right. Unfortunately, kid, we can't remove it. Don't forget the core extract effects us too," Nathan nodding and replying, "Just knock them out, then we can look for the extract and pry it out," the gods nodding, rather amazed to be taking orders from a human. Such a thought up to that point was unthinkable.

However, this battle was far from over as the dragons finally recovered fully from the attacks dealt earlier and struck the Kami Trio. However, upon seeing who their targets were, they were able to somewhat control themselves and make the attacks weaker, not that the Kami trio wouldn't have survived the attack anyway. With that, the fight started up again, Tornadus, Thundurus and Landorus throwing all they could think of at the dragons while the dragons did their best to fight back.

Jack slowly started to awaken as Samurott loomed over him with worry in his eyes, licking his face a few times as everyone else breathed a sigh of relief. Jack groaned and noticed Samurott, his eyes going wide as it slowly but surely occurred to him that this great creature used to be a Dewott. His eyes sparkled as he slowly held his hand up, stroking the side of the seal's face.

"Dewott, you look amazing..." he said with a half-smile forming, Dana giggling and saying, "He's called Samurott now," Jack replying, "That's even cooler," Samurott smiling with much joy, happy to hear his master finally call him cool... well, more or less, anyway.

He then looked up and gasped, "Oh my god, are those who I think they are?" David nodding and replying, "Yep, they're the Kami Trio. Right now, they're the best help we got."

Jack then looked at Nathan and sighed, "So all this time, I was working for criminals... as much as I hate to admit it, Nathan, you were in the right..." Nathan letting out a sigh and replying, "Hey, the gym leaders fell for it too," Max and Eric whistling with their hands behind their backs, Melissa staring at Max and asking, "Since when do you care what others think of you?"

"Guys, don't get too comfortable," Benjamin said, "The Kami Trio may be strong, but they haven't won yet," Jeff remarking, "Buzzkill," folding his arms as Ben turned to him, sticking his tongue out. Still, he was right. It was too early for everyone to feel safe.

That said, though, the elemental gods were doing an amazing job. Sure, they'd taken in a bit of damage, but it was nothing they couldn't just shrug off. It almost seemed like the dragons were going to pass out. However, all hope became lost again as the dragons eventually lost control completely again, Zekrom conjuring up a huge sphere of electricity, sending it hard into Tornadus. Since this particular god was weak against electric attacks, this made him too weak as his cloud vanished, the being falling hard against the ground, Landorus and Thundurus looking at him with concern.

Unfortunately, turning away from the battle was their biggest mistake as Reshiram took down Thundurus by sending a stream of blue fire called Blue Flare into his back, the thunder god's cloud disappearing as well as he fell fast and hard. Landorus burned up with rage and hit them with another Stone Edge, but this proved ineffective as the two hit him with an attack called Dragonbreath, knocking him out for good.

"What are we gonna do?" Rachel asked, trembling with fear and biting her lip as Sabrina sniffed, "There's nothing we can do now. I am so sorry..." Jack scowling at her and about to insult her when Chelsea glared at him, shaking her head. Her angry face was an especially rare one, so this struck fear into anyone when she used it, even those who didn't know how rare it was.

But just as all seemed lost, everyone heard a sound. It kind of resembled... galloping? Turning around, Jack's eyes went wide as he recognized the creatures entering the area, all three of them. They were the goat-like Pokemon he had seen in the meadow, the mountains and the forest. He couldn't believe his eyes.

"Oh god, you guys are stalking me, aren't you!" Jack spat as everyone stared at the boy, Rocky asking, "Kid, why would the legendary goats stalk you?" Jack's eyes going wide as he asked, "You mean these creatures who I challenged," pointing at the blue one, "avoided," pointing at the grey one, "and got licked by," pointing at the green one, "are legendary?"

"You were licked by a legend?" Jason asked as David nodded his head saying, "Yeah, kid, didn't you do your research. Everyone knows about them, but seldom have ever seen them. I have to say, you're one lucky guy."

"Wow, they are so cool!" Dana squealed, pointing at the blue one, "That one's Cobalion, I'm sure," pointing at the grey one and added, "and that's Terrakion," then pointing at the green one stated, "And that's Virizion."

The goats blushed a bit, hearing all this talk about them before noticing the Kami Trio knocked down, the legendary dragons currently on a rampage, Tornadus slowly opening one of his eyes and grunting, "Oh, there you are... what kept you?" Virizion and Cobalion glaring at Terrakion who grinned nervously, shrugging his shoulders.

The goats then remembered why they'd been summoned in the first place as they charged at the dragons, a series of energy-made swords dancing around his head and increasing his strength with an ability known as Swords Dance. He then lowered his head as his skull turned into iron, Zekrom sending a blast of flames toward the goat who simply leaped over it, ramming his skull hard into the dragon's neck before backing up and using Metal Burst.

Terrakion proceeded to let out a deafening roar, sending rocks up from out of the ground for his own Stone Edge on both dragons, Virizion increasing the size of the leaf on her neck, turning into a blade and turning around, slicing Reshiram in the chest. She and Terrakion then proceeded to add to the damage as Terrakion thrust his horns sideways for his Sacred Sword attack, Virizion using Magical Leaf, sending an onslaught of sharp leaves at the white dragon.

Unfortunately, the dragons will still going as they proceeded to hit the three goats with all they had. However, during all of this, Nathan had noticed something on Reshiram's back, a sky-blue glow to be exact, but it was a very feint glow. With that, he smiled and said, "Guys, I think I know where the core extract is," the others looking at him with curiosity as he added, "It's on each one's back, right below the neck."

Seeing how helpless the goats were being right now, Dana let out a sigh and said, "We might not be able to use that knowledge to our advantage," Nathan frowning before saying, "I don't know about you wimps, but I'm going in," Sammy giving an army salute, knowing right away that she needed to be a distraction right now.

Seeing this, Jack grunted and said, "As much as I hate helping that guy, Samurott, you'd better make this easier for him too," the seal nodding before Sammy ran over to Nathan, scooping him up and putting him on the back of her neck, the boy holding onto her head and saying, "Thanks, girl."

The dragons saw the two coming, Zekrom about to open fire when Samurott sending his Hydro Pump into the creature's mouth. Seeing this, Jacob nodded at Lucario, giving him thumbs up as the dog nodded and rushed in as well, sending out a shock wave from his mouth called Dragon Pulse into Reshiram's face. Right now, getting that extract out was top priority.

Seeing this, Sabrina immediately got up, Tammy staring and asking, "What are you doing now?" Sabrina taking off toward Reshiram, the others staring as Jason spat, "Is anyone gonna stop her!" Chelsea shaking her head and replying, "No, I think Sabrina can do this without our help."

Seeing their new help, the goats smiled, their eyes sparkling as Victini finally regained full strength, Dana smiling and asking, "Are you ready to go in there and kick butt?" the legend nodding before taking off toward the dragons, covering his body in fire and streaking across each one's cheek, using Flare Blitz. Of course, this hurt him as well, but it was still powerful.

Sammy and Nathan eventually got close enough to Zekrom as Sammy picked up Nathan, hurling her master at the dragon's neck, Nathan grabbing onto it and spinning around, now clinging onto the backside, Zekrom too distracted to notice. He did feel a little frightened right now but this was not a good time to show it as he slowly inched down the neck, reaching the core extract and starting to pull on it.

Zekrom felt the force of the pull as he was about to reach around and pry Nathan off, but Sammy immediately scooped up a ball of dirt, hurling it into Zekrom's chin. The dragon fumed, actually thankful that Sammy had done that but wasn't able to control his emotions right now as he sent a flame bolt toward her, the Excadrill standing and taking it, looking at her claws like a girl looked at her fingernails and blinked before shrugging. After all, Sammy was a ground type, so electric attacks were useless against her.

Meanwhile, Reshiram was also taking in quite the beating as Sabrina got around the back to his tail, trying to leap onto it only for Reshiram to move it out of the way, the woman landing flat on her face. She simply ignored this though as the tail moved in front of her long enough for the woman to grab it. Reshiram felt this and was about to shake her off only for Victini to send a flame to the side of his head, the white dragon facing him now.

Nathan was having a lot of trouble pulling the core out. It was lodged in there rather tightly. Still, he wouldn't give up at this point as everyone watched with intensity. Sabrina also managed to climb up Reshiram's back, grabbing onto the dragon's extract and having just as much trouble.

After a while, the dragons let out big roars before taking down the legendary goats with one combined attack. Victini saw this, charging at them only for Zekrom to smack him away with the back of his hand. That left Samurott, Sammy and Lucario alone, Jacob gulping and looking rather nervous as Jack had confidence in his Samurott, Nathan peering over Zekrom's shoulder and smiling at Sammy, the mole giving an army salute. They couldn't give up yet, not after all they'd done.

With that, all three did the best they could, Lucario leaping at Reshiram, his paw turning into steel as he scratched the dragon's face. Sammy then proceeded to use the same move on Zekrom as Samurott sent in an orb of water known as Water Pulse into each of them.

With that, Nathan gave Sabrina thumbs up with a warm smile, Sabrina nodding with a smile of her own, the two finally managing to pry the core extract out, flying backwards into the remains of the Team Shadow headquarters, the dragons stopping their attacks. Their eyes changed back to normal as they slumped down, rubbing their temples.

"Is it over?" Rachel asked, Dana's eyes sparkling as she squealed, "They did it!" everyone raising their arms in the air as they cheered, the Kami Trio slowly awakening as they grinned, letting out light laughs of joy.

With that, Nathan and Sabrina slowly climbed to their feet, rubbing their heads when Sammy ran over to Nathan, the boy's eyes going wide as his best friend tackled him to the ground, embracing him hard. Nathan's eyes nearly popped out of his skull as he laughed nervously, patting the mole on the back. Then looking over at Sabrina, he noticed her looking down. She must have still felt guilty about what she did.

At that moment, the woman turned around, about ready to walk away when Tammy exclaimed, "Wait!" Sabrina turning around and staring as the young girl ran up to her and said, "Sabrina, I'm still upset with you killing my sister, but I'm glad you learned your lesson," David smiling and nodding as Max gave the former Team Shadow leader thumbs up saying, "You were righteous back there," Melissa blinking before saying, "Yeah, whatever he just said."

With that, everyone else applauded Sabrina save for Jack who found that sort of thing demeaning, returning his Samurott and about to take his leave when Eric said, "Hey, kid, wait up."

Jack turned as Eric asked, "Are you by chance aiming for the Pokemon Challenge?" Jack nodding and asking, "Yeah, why?" Eric pulling out a gym badge and saying, "I think you've earned this."

Jack's eyes went wide as the leaders he hadn't yet faced gave him a badge each as well, David saying, "That Samurott of yours is really something. Make us proud," Jack's eyes going wide as he grinned saying, "Excellent, that saves me a lot of effort."

The gym leaders then gave Dana the same offer as she said, "I'm sorry, I can't... I should earn them..." Amanda shrugging and replying, "But you did earn them. You showed incredible skill," Max adding, "And you beat me, the strongest of the gym leaders."

"You're not the strongest," Melissa whispered in his ear as the boy replied, "I know. I'm just trying to raise her self esteem," Dana accepting the badges as she let down tears, smiling and saying, "I'll do my best!"

Sabrina still didn't seem sure of herself as Nathan smiled lightly at her saying, "Sabrina, come on, you did the right thing in the end. That's all that matters," Sabrina looking at Nathan and saying, "I'm not used to seeing you like this," Nathan replying, "I'm actually kind of amazed you remember my lack of emotion."

Sabrina then let out a sigh and asked, "So... do you forgive me...?" Nathan knowing exact what she meant as he nodded and said, "I think the answer's obvious at this point."

However, Sabrina's happiness left her when David slapped a pair of handcuffs on her saying, "I'm also a cop, and I should execute you for your crimes against society, but since you learned your lesson, I'll let you out after a month," the others staring as Max said, "Dude, that's cold," Sabrina shaking her head and saying, "No, he's right. I deserve to be punished," David patting the woman on the shoulder and saying, "Glad to have you on our side."

With that, he summoned Hydreigon as Chelsea and Amanda waved at Sabrina, Chelsea saying, "We'll come visit you every now and then," Sabrina smiling and saying, "That'll be nice."

However, just before David left, he approached Nathan and said, "Your display back there really impressed me," Nathan bowing and saying, "Well, thank you sir," David shaking his head and saying, "I've heard from the others that you have no interest in the Ultimate Pokemon Challenge, but I personally think you should do it."

Nathan's eyes went wide as he shook his head saying, "No, sorry, I can't do that..." David pulling out one of each type of badge, him being the boss of the gym leaders and all, and dropped them in front of Nathan saying, "Take them. Don't waste this opportunity."

Nathan looked down at them and took a deep breath, nodding and taking them. Perhaps he could do this after all. With that, David took off on Hydreigon, Sabrina with him as the others waved goodbye to her. As if things couldn't get any better, the dragons turned to Nathan and leaned down, licking his face as he said, "Okay, seriously, that's enough praise."

With that, all seemed well and good. Jack left to head onto the place where the Ultimate Pokemon Challenge was held, Excel City. He was full of confidence now. Chelsea picked up one of the remains of her precious Durant, knowing he wouldn't want her to be sad and gave him a proper burial.

The gym leaders and elite four members returned to where they needed to be, Tammy taking full custody of her sister's Pokemon, becoming the official gym leader. Chelsea and Amanda, as promised, visited Sabrina in prison to check up on her every now and then, David making sure the warden would extend their visiting time just a little bit.

Jacob and his friends decided to have a vacation in this region, rather liking the different sites and wanting to see the various Pokemon that didn't exist in the Celtia Region. Needless to say, Professors Yae and Moro were pleased to hear that everything had been fixed.

Melissa had also taken quite the shining to Max, surprisingly, and often found herself coming to his place to pay him a visit a lot of the time. For the first couple of days, she had trouble admitting her true feelings and ultimate, it was up to Max to do it for her.

The Kami Trio returned to their cave and had a big party in celebration of this victory, the legendary goats also returning to their habitats. Meanwhile, the legendary dragons decided to go wherever they pleased, not really staying together.

Sampson had finally turned over a new leaf, leading Team Shadow in returning the extract of the Unova Core back to its rightful place, on the core itself. Reattaching it was surprisingly easy.

Pamela and Rocky also started dating, Rocky proving himself to be quite the gentleman. Of course, he also lost his temper quite easily, but Pamela thought it was cute, so this wasn't harmful to their relationship or anything.

But most of all, Nathan and his friends were back on their journey, Carmen and Mighty also having feelings for each other. Needless to say, Jason became way too involved in this, trying his best to help 'better their relationship' while Nathan and Dana figured he wasn't the best man to be doing this.

Probably the biggest shock was that Victini was very thankful to Dana for carrying him out of the collapsing headquarters, much-so that he allowed her to capture him, making him her sixth Pokemon. Needless to say, Dana was a force to be reckoned with now.

Note: Maybe that last bit's a little too convenient, but hey, my story, my direction.


	28. Chapter 28

Pokemon Quest

With everything good and peaceful in the world again, Nathan, Dana and Jason were almost at Excel City. It was just another day now. This was where the Ultimate Pokemon challenge would be held, and with no more gym battles to fight, there were no more distractions.

"I still can't get over it," Jason said, looking at Dana who had Victini out, the legend rubbing its cheek up against hers, "Seriously, Jack catching a Zorua is weird enough, but a legendary Pokemon just letting you catch it? It boggles the mind!"

Dana giggled and replied, "Somebody's jealous," as Nathan shrugged, replying, "He does have a point. Victini must REALLY like you to let him be his master."

Victini simply curled up against Dana's cheek some more as the girl giggled more, pretty much ignoring what the boys were saying now. Either way, things had certainly turned out for the best. Team Shadow was finally done for, the Unova Core was restored, the legendary dragons were free and everything was as it should be.

While Nathan and his friends continued their travels, David walked over to Sabrina's cell, the woman looking up and asking, "What is it?" David letting out a sigh and replying, "Alright, the Ultimate Pokemon Challenge is coming up, and as you know, all of us gym leaders have to attend this. I was wondering if you'd like to come," Sabrina's eyes sparkling as she said, "Yes, I'd love that," David nodding before opening up her cell and handcuffing her to him saying, "I trust you to behave yourself, but I gotta take special precautions or else it'll cost me my second job. Despite our high statuses, gym leaders don't make much."

Sabrina nodded in understanding as David smiled, walking her down the halls before sending Hydreigon out, hopping aboard and taking off. Sabrina did her best to hang on, clinging to David for support as the man rolled his eyes, smiling all the while.

Yae was also packing to go as she was to be one of the announcers. Much like in the Celtia region, she was going to be doing this with one of the nurses. It was this rule that allowed Professor Moro to meet his darling wife, Nurse Boredom.

Jack had actually managed to beat Nathan and the others to Excel City, a first for him. As he walked through town, his Samurott by his side, he grinned happily, knowing now was his chance to publicly humiliate Nathan. Despite turning over a new leaf, he hadn't quite let that go.

That night, Nathan and his friends camped out under the stars, Jason preparing dinner as he set down a bowl of noodles in front of Carmen and Mighty, having them both sit at a stump across from each other while the boy sang, "Love is in the air tonight, everything just seems so right," winking at the two as Nathan and Dana rolled their eyes.

"Love is everything, you see, to be together is what everyone should be..." he added before snapping his fingers and winking at the monkeys and taking his leave, the two chuckling a bit before eating their noodles.

Dana looked rather nervous while eating as Nathan patted her on the shoulder saying, "You'll be fine, okay?" Queen all the while rubbing the girl's shoulders as she said, "I'm mostly nervous about having to go up against you."

Nathan then gave the girl a stern look and replied, "Dana, it's a competition, okay? It's best not to think about friendship at a time like that. I'm not going to hate you if you end up beating me, okay?" Dana breathing a sigh of relief saying, "That's good."

After finishing dinner, Dana smiled warmly at Nathan, her cheeks turning pink. She didn't know what it was, but there was something about him, how he'd mostly opened up to her, the way he cared so much about beauty... she was starting to see Nathan differently from how she did before, but she didn't know how to describe it. She figured it was probably nothing while she finished off her dinner, wishing everyone goodnight and heading off to sleep.

Meanwhile, in a hotel within Excel City, Jacob was on the phone as his Pokemon were out enjoying dinner, Floatzel all the while harassing the room service woman, Izy pulling on her ear and dragging her back toward her food. Jacob was on the line with his mother back in Redwood.

"I'm fine, mother," he said, rolling his eyes, "I'm in one piece," the woman sighing and replying, "I know, son, but I just wish you'd stop going out and fighting dragons," Jacob remarking, "That's only happened twice, mother."

"Still, that beast Giratina killed your father," the woman replied, "I don't want the same happening to you, sweetie. I'm just worried, it's a mother's job," Jacob nodding and saying, "I know, mom."

After a little more conversation, Jacob wished his mother a good night before hanging up, then returned to join the others. Naturally, he was going to be an audience member for the Pokemon Challenge.

The following morning, Nathan and his friends finally arrived in Excel city, their eyes going wide and sparkling at the sight of it. This was hands-down the nicest place they had been to. The buildings were brightly coloured as opposed to being mostly grey or white and there were three different theatres just for Pokemon to act. There were also two for humans and one for movies.

Along with that was the biggest mall the group had ever seen. It was seven stories high and three times the width of the last one the teens had been to. There were also all kinds of shops and restaurants and all sorts of things. They even had an amusement park of all things, something Nathan had only heard about but never actually seen.

But the one thing Nathan and Dana cared most about was the big stadium in the centre of Excel City, an enormous building with a sunroof over the battle area, which was also quite big.

With that, the two headed toward the stadium for registry as a young woman looked at their badges and said, "Excellent, you two are approved. Come back tonight and I'll give you your room numbers. The competition officially starts tomorrow."

Jason then grinned and rested his hands on his friends's shoulders before saying, "Well, everyone, you heard the lady. We still have all day until we can worry about the tournament," Dana giggling and replying, "Yeah, let's go have fun!"

Just as the trio took their leave, Jack was wandering around and passing by the place, already having registered and noticed them. He simply grinned wickedly, glad to see Nathan had arrived. There was no way he'd enjoy this tournament without a chance to show his rival up.

For the rest of the day, everyone simply had fun. They went to the mall for a bit, checking out all the stores, Dana looking over a bunch of things before ultimately buying one of the cheapest things there, a rubber band just so she could put her hair in a ponytail. Nathan and Jason dared not question this as they were just glad she hadn't gone too far with her spending.

Nathan, on the other hand, bought a few things for his Pokemon. He bought Sammy a cool golden wrist band, but it wasn't made from real gold. Those were too expensive. For Hanzo, he purchased a fighter's headband, the bug really wanting it, figuring it would look intimidating. For Celeste, he bought a flower for her head feathers, and also got Wilbur a spiked collar. Zelda already had her shining stone, so he got nothing for her, and Toby didn't want anything.

After the mall, the group went out for lunch then to the amusement park. While there, Jason insisted that Carmen and Mighty go down the tunnel of love as Steve smacked his forehead, rolling his eyes. This was starting to get embarrassing.

Nathan, meanwhile, got on a roller coaster with Dana and looked at it saying, "This looks interesting..." Dana giggling and saying, "If you get scared, you can hold onto me," the two getting on.

As much as Nathan tried to hide it, he really was scared the minute the coaster starting speeding down the tracks. He then found himself holding on tight as Dana squealed excitedly, loving the momentum. As soon as the ride stopped, Nathan was trembling, his eyes wide open as Dana giggled at this, sitting next to him on a bench.

After the amusement park, Nathan figured he may as well reveal his love of musical theatre, inviting the others to watch his Pokemon perform in the musical. Dana decided to have hers audition as well, Jason rolling his eyes and refusing to let his monkeys join, despite Mighty and Carmen actually wanting to be a part of this.

By the end of the play, Jason had tears in his eyes as he clapped the hardest. It seemed this play had made him appreciate musicals more.

With that, the trio returned to the stadium before Nathan noticed Jacob and Izy nearby, waving as the two waved back, walking over as Jacob asked, "So, you join the tournament yet?" Nathan nodding and asking, "Are you participating too?" Izy shaking her head and replying, "Oh no, we're just spectating."

"That's awesome!" Dana squeaked as Jacob said, "We'll be cheering for you guys," before Jason asked, "So... where are your lesbian friends?" Izy shrugging and replying, "Knowing Anna, she's probably off buying flowers or something."

Lucario was examining someone else's Venus fly trap all the while, the owner currently too distracted to notice as the fly trap bit Lucario's nose, the dog force-palming it into submission before strangling it. Seeing this, Jacob sighed and whistled, the dog running over as the owner of the fly trap turned around, gasping at its condition.

"Well, good luck, you guys," Jacob said as Nathan and Dana headed toward the stadium saying, "Thanks," before Dana squealed, "Jinx! You owe me a soda," Nathan rolling his eyes as Jason joined them.

With that, the teens were given their rooms save for Jason. Since he was just a guest and not one of the participants, he had to choose a place to sleep outside of the rooms. He was okay with it, so it wasn't an issue or anything.

Another big shocker came up when Jacob and Izy were just about to enter their hotel room when they noticed a certain blond-headed woman there tucking a baby in, Jacob narrowing his eyelids asking, "Roxanne, what are you doing here?" Roxanne looking up and smiling before squealing, "JACOB!" hugging the man as Izy scowled, snapping, "Back off, he's mine!" Roxanne letting go and laughing, "Oh, Izy, you're so funny," Izy blinking in confusion. It wasn't as if she was joking when she said that... completely.

Roxanne then proceeded to explain how Anna had told her all about their vacation and how the next Pokemon Challenge was coming up. Since Roxanne had missed all but the final round of the last one she'd been to, it only seemed necessary.

"I'd be pissed off right now, but honestly, I'd much rather have Rachel in my care right now, so thank you," Jacob said, bowing his head as Roxanne smiled, standing there silently until Jacob narrowed his eyelids, pointing toward the door and saying, "Now get out and rent your own suite," Roxanne then winking and saying, "Oh, I getcha," exiting the room as Jacob slapped his forehead, Lucario clinging to his leg all the while. No matter how many times he saw that woman, she still scared him.

The following day, the stadium was now packed to the brim with citizens. As a reward for helping in the battle against the legendary dragons, Jacob, Izy, Janette, Anna and Jason were given front-row seats. The battle area was quite big as well, a green field with spray paint forming a Pokeball shape on the ground. Here, the trainers participating, in which there were more than one hundred, were standing in wait for the big announcement.

Professor Yae proceeded to approach the podium, standing behind it and tapping the mic as it released an annoying high-pitched sound, everyone shutting up and covering their ears as Yae smiled with pride saying, "Now that I have your attention, I, Professor Yae, have a few things to say."

The people then uncovered their ears as Yae cleared her throat before saying, "Welcome, everyone, to the Ultimate Pokemon Challenge! You have all come a long way and fought many battles, and after all that, your efforts are finally going to pay off! In this challenge, all of these fine trainers will be competing to see which trainer is the best this region has to offer!"

"That'll be me," Jack mumbled to himself with a grin as Yae continued, "Now, unlike most tournaments, this one will be a bit different. Rather than just having a bunch of straight battles, we will instead be narrowing down our numbers with a series of different events," the crowd now really interested.

All the while, Moro watched this on his TV at his lab while eating chips and asking, "Now why didn't I get this much attention when I made this announcement?" Boredom rolling her eyes and replying, "It's because you don't have these, that's why," pointing at her chest as Moro scowled at his wife.

Yae then continued, "We will start things off with sporting events that the Pokemon will do. We will continue to do this until the number of participants left is twelve."

"Twelve?" Nathan asked, another trainer stating, "But that's not divisible by eight. That won't make the numbers any easier to work with."

A bunch of others started talking about as even the audience was discussing it, Yae rolling her eyes and tapping the microphone again, everyone stopping at the sound of that annoying screech as the professor whistled before putting on an innocent smile and continuing, "Once there are twelve trainers left, we will begin the battles segment. But before we move onto any of these events, allow me to introduce my special guests."

With that, a nurse carrying pom-poms and sporting pretty pink hair danced up to the podium before shouting, "THIS TOURNAMENT'S GONNA ROCK YOUR WORLD!" the crowd not even sure how to respond to this as Yae chuckled, saying, "This is my co-announcer, Nurse Pep."

She then proceeded to clear her throat once more before exclaiming, "And now, introducing this region's gym leaders!" the crowd now going wild, Nathan and Dana waving as the leaders all entered. Pamela and Rocky were holding hands while Eric had a nervous look on his face, noticing his wife and daughter were going to be sitting right behind him, the two still not knowing about him joining Team Shadow. Tammy had a nice smile on her face while, Chelsea smiled brightly, waving at the adoring fans. Amanda looked a little nervous, though, as she wasn't used to big crowd of people. However, what intrigued everyone the most was David entering with Sabrina cuffed to him. They could tell by the cuffs she was a criminal, but why would a criminal be with a gym leader for a big event like this?

Max then saw the Elite Four a row back and waved at Melissa, the girl smiling and waving her fingers back as Pamela was the first to go up to the podium as she stated, "Well, you all worked hard getting here! Now go in there and have fun!" the crowd shrugging, mildly clapping just for the sake of common courtesy. This was something people often heard announcers say before track and field in schools, so this was nothing new to them.

Eric then went up and cleared his throat before saying, "Now, my only advice is that you all play fair. No one likes a cheater," the audience once again not caring much for this speech for a similar reason, Rocky going up and exclaiming, "Now remember, hitting your opponent fast and hard isn't all it takes to win! You also need strategy and most of all teamwork and respect for your partners!" some members of the crowd really liking this advice while a small minority considered it absolute nonsense.

Tammy then stood up and sighed, "Well, there is one thing I learned after my sister tragically left this world. It's that if you lose something, you shouldn't spend your whole life dwelling on it. So if you lose a fight in this tournament or don't even make it to the battle portion, don't forget how many you were going up against. Just learn to deal with it and move on."

Most members of the crowd had tears in their eyes listening to this while a small percentage of the crowd found her speech to be the most boring. Either way, Tammy was glad to have said that as she gave her spot to Chelsea.

The girl smiled and waved before saying, "Remember to stay positive no matter how hard things get," getting off as most were just relieved by how short her speech was, Amanda standing up, about to say something but instead wussed out before saying, "Sorry, I've got nothing to add," walking away from the podium while burying her face in her hands, David walking up and saying, "To those wondering about the criminal, don't worry, she's learned her lesson," Sabrina waving while grinning nervously before David added, "Look, even if you don't win, don't forget that you made it this far. That's at least something, right?"

With that, everyone applauded and cheered, the speeches finally over as the first event was just about to be announced. This was a big moment for everyone.


	29. Chapter 29

Pokemon Legacy

All of the trainers and audience members waiting in anticipation for the first sporting event to be announced. This would be the first deciding factor in who would participate in the battle portion and as such, it was a pretty big deal. Yae directed everyone towards a big screen as the name of the competition and a picture representing it appeared on the screen.

However, everyone simply stared in shock and utter dismay when the words on the screen read 'Arts and Crafts' showing a picture of a smiley face holding up a bottle of glue somehow. Crickets started to chirping as everyone continued to stare, Jack's eye twitching all the while.

"IS THIS SOME KIND OF JOKE!" he spat as suddenly, the vast majority of everyone else agreed, yelling curses at Yae as if she was the worst host ever. However, Dana and Chelsea simply giggled while saying, "I think the idea's cute..."

"Okay, okay, I know you can't comprehend..." Yae said but was cut off by all the yelling, even the gym leaders joining in until after a few seconds, Yae tapped on the microphone again making that awful screeching sound as everyone covered their ears, Yae with a proud look on her face.

"I know you're probably wondering what this has to do with Pokemon skills, right?" the professor asked before pointing at Nurse Pep and squealed, "Well, see, this isn't just ordinary arts and crafts. See, you will given huge natural materials to work with and you must have all of your Pokemon form something cool out of it. The half that gives us the weakest creations will be removed from the tournament."

With that, most of the trainers nodded in understanding, figuring that perhaps this wouldn't be such a big waste of their talents except for Jack who still felt gypped. Arts and crafts? That wasn't bone-crushing, that wasn't pain-inducing, it was just a childish activity that anyone could do.

However, his tone soon changed when the materials were brought out for everyone, each participant getting a lot to work with. One material was a large stump, another being a big slab of rock. There was also a block of ice along with some skulls and even a basket full of grass and hay. Of course, Jack was only interested in the stone slab and the skulls.

With that, everyone started up the event as Dana sent out her Pokemon, having them all get to work on combining the stump, ice, grass and hay into something. Naturally, Pyro worked on forming the ice into something pretty while Queen used providing Electra with silk to bind the grass and hay together, the two forming what looked like the roof of a shrine.

While King and Edmond worked on the stump, most were surprised she didn't have her sixth Pokemon out. After all, everyone else had six. The truth was that Dana figured using a legend would make things unfair, so she decided not to have Victini help out.

Nathan had decided to make use of every material, having Sammy work on the stone slab. Zelda and Celeste were working with the hay and grass while Hanzo went to town with the stump. Toby did whatever he could with the skulls and Wilbur sent electric sparks into the ice, forming it into something.

Soon enough, everyone had completed a masterpiece as Yae and Pep left the podium and entered the arena to see the results. Jack had created a big rock creature with three heads represented by skulls balanced on stone points representing necks. While Yae did not consider this the most impressive piece of work, she did find it creative enough to warrant a pass.

Pep looked at Dana's project, which was a small model of a wooden cottage with the ice flattened to represent a pond out front, hay being used for the roof and the grass being used as a lawn. Pep clapped, finding this to be a very cute and clever idea.

Ultimately Nathan's was probably one of the simplest of the three as he had created statues of his friends using the materials provided. However, Yae was simply impressed by how he managed to pull this off with such materials and was especially flattered that one of the statues was of her. As such, she allowed him to advance as well.

With that, a good half of the trainers, one such trainer making a pile of mud from wood chips and water from melting the ice, were sent off to be audience members. The other half would go on to the next challenge.

Jacob, Izy, Anna, Janette and Jason were naturally pleased to see Nathan and Dana make it as Jason exclaimed, "Yeah, you guys rock!" Mighty and Carmen holding up pom-poms and cheering while Steve rolled his eyes, unenthusiastically waving a flag.

With that, Yae turned the screen on to show another event lined up, everyone once again confused as this time, the title presented was 'Talent Show' with a picture of a ballet dancer attached. However, this one was more straight-forward as they realized very quickly this simply meant showing off their Pokemon team's talents.

"As the title indicates," Yae explained, "the contestants will show off their Pokemon's talents. However, you are limited to only one this time around, so be sure to pick your most talented. Also, presentation is a key factor here, so make sure the entrance looks impressive too."

Nathan looked over his team carefully, each one interested in this except for Hanzo who couldn't have cared less about some talent show. After a while, Nathan realized who his best choice for this was as he returned all of the others except for Zelda, the snake dancing happily. She loved performing.

Dana was having even more trouble as she scratched her head saying, "Guys, don't take it personally, but I'm going to have to go with Electra for this one," the others looking down in disappointment as Electra squeaked happily, Queen simply bowing her head, still being too loyal for her own good.

Jack had the most trouble deciding as he looked at his team, blinking and asking, "Okay, um, do any of you have talent outside of battle?" a silence filling the air as he groaned, "Whatever, I'll just go with you," pointing at Zorua, the fox grinning with pride while the others folded their arms in disappointment except for Samurott who was rather glad not to have that much pressure put on him.

With that, a big stage rose up out of the section of the arena, Yae saying, "Alright, you all have ten minutes to prepare an act for the crowd!" Jason groaned, "Now I wish I'd joined this... my monkeys would do an excellent job," Janette patting him on the shoulder with a warm smile on her face.

During the ten minutes, Nathan was working on his act as Zelda found herself exhausted after just a minute, Nathan petting her on the head and saying, "It's okay, girl, I think you've got it just right."

Electra practised her act multiple times as Dana clapped, squealing, "You are just too ready for this!" while Jack rolled his eyes saying, "You don't need practise, Zorua. Just go in there and surprise everyone," the fox nodding with a confident smile.

And so the event started up as Yae pointed at the stage announcing, "And first up is Rebecca and her Mincinno," a young girl sending in grey mouse with puffy fur and white tips atop its head, the mouse then spinning around with its tail out, using a very stylish Tail Whip while the crowd applauded, Rebecca and her Mincinno bowing.

"Wow, they got some pretty tough competition," Jason said, "I wonder if they can do this," Anna sighing, "If I was out there, I could beat them," Izy nodding and saying, "Yeah, I've won quite a few of these contests before."

After many others went, it was time for Dana to go up as Electra performed a rolling flip out of her ball and dazzling the crowd. But it didn't end there as the flying rodent took to the sky, spinning around in a circle while covering herself in electricity. After a while, she managed to stir up a twister made of lightning as even ood and awed at the sight of this.

Even Jason had to admit, he was really impressed. This was a very creative tactic. Now why didn't she ever do this in battle? It would have been very affective. Izy and Anna simply gave Dana thumbs up in approval. Being contest veterans themselves, they knew what was impressive and what wasn't.

Pep went ecstatic as Dana took her bow, Electra perched on her shoulder, the nurse applauding wildly and screeching, "THAT WAS AMAZING! I HOPE THE OTHER REMAINDERS ARE THIS AWESOME!" Yae laughing a bit before saying, "Yeah, I must admit, that was really cool."

After a few more went up, it was time for Jack, who went right before Nathan. He simply scowled at the boy and thought, 'I know I'm going to upstage you, but you'd better do a good job anyway. I want to face you in battle.'

With that, he sent in Zorua, the fox performing a handstand with her front paws, lifting one up and waving it through the fur atop her head as the crowd applauded this. The fox then proceeded to leap into the air, performing twenty flips before landing on one paw, performing the handstand again only she had managed to create a clone of herself using Agility in the air, the fox leaping back into the air, sending fury swipes into the clone and causing it to vanish, landing gracefully against the floor and bowing her head while the cheers became louder.

Nathan and Dana's eyes were wide open with shock, Jack even surprised. After all, he had told Zorua to come up with her own act, so this really astounded him. Either way, it was going to be hard to top that.

Nathan then entered, sending in Zelda as the snake waved at the cheering crowd before releasing her whips from under her armpits. She then proceeded to spin around, combining her Leaf Tornado with her Vine Whip, creating a very impressive display.

The crowd once again went ecstatic as Yae said, "That was awesome. Also, that blue gem on Servine's forehead especially helped," Pep nodding and saying, "Still, though, after watching that Zorua do such a wonderful job, it's hard to be quite as peppy after seeing that."

Jack grinned with pride, actually quite surprised that he'd managed to outdo Nathan. Though, of course, he acted like it was natural. He refused to give his rival the satisfaction of knowing he was lacking a bit of confidence.

As was expected, Nathan and Dana were among the remaining half as a good number had to go, the crowd talking amongst themselves about the results as Yae tapped on the microphone, everyone shouting, "WOULD YOU STOP DOING THAT!" Yae remarking, "If I stopped, you wouldn't listen."

She then said, "Now, the final event to decide our finalists is quite possibly the most challenging one of all. In fact, it's so big that it's taking place outside of the stadium," everyone groaning, knowing this meant they'd have to exit the huge building to see this one for themselves. However, the gym leaders saw nothing wrong with this as Jason grinned, feeling rather excited. After all, such a big event had to be fun for both the watchers and participants, right?

With that, Yae brought up another image on the screen, the words saying 'The Big Race' and showing a picture of a group of Pokemon running toward a finish line. Now everyone was even more excited as this was actually quite interesting. But just how big was this 'big race'? Sure, it took place outside of the arena, but it couldn't have been all that long, right?

With that, everyone gathered outside, the spectators standing on the sidelines, some at the front sitting down as they didn't feel like standing the whole time. Yae then stood before the starting line saying, "Each trainer will choose one Pokemon for the race, meaning you must pick wisely as this race will really test your Pokemon's skills."

Nathan had already decided that Wilbur, being the fastest runner of the team, should go as Dana was going with Pyro since it seemed necessary to use him for the final event. However, the two started changing their minds when Pep explained the course outline.

"Now here's how the race will work," the nurse said, bringing up a flip board with a map on it, pointing at the locations and explaining, "You will start the race by going through a bit of the city, then you will be headed into the forest. Somewhere in the middle of it all, you'll come across a lake. Hopefully your Pokemon can swim, otherwise you'd lose a lot of momentum there. After the lake, there will be more forest as your Pokemon will travel at least a couple more miles until they end up at another entrance to the city, running through the streets there before coming to the stadium, circling once around it and coming right back to the starting line," a sweet smile on her face as she asked, "Any questions?"

Jack felt a tad nervous about this as he looked over his team, not really sure how helpful Samurott would be with his speed. However, he felt one particular ball vibrating as he groaned, "Zorua, you already went," the ball vibrating even faster as he sighed, "Alright, if you're sure about this," sending the fox out once again as she grinned with confidence.

Dana thought of sending Electra in now when she noticed one ball open itself up, Queen coming out as the girl groaned, "Queen, you're not suited for this," Yae suddenly adding, "Once your Pokemon comes out, you can't make a substitution," Dana sighing, "Well, alright, do your best out there," the spider giving an army salute.

Nathan decided to send in Celeste, the Pidove perched atop his shoulder as he stroked the bird saying, "Make me proud," a warm smile on his face as the dove took a spot near the starting line. If anything, a flier was perfect for this course. After all, who better to get past water than someone who could just fly over it?

Soon, all forty-five remaining contestants had their Pokemon out, Yae waving a flag and exclaiming, "GO!" the Pokemon taking off in an instant. Celeste was doing an excellent job, using Quick Attack to improve her speed. Zorua had managed to start off in twenty-fifth, the fox growling before ramming into one of her opponents, knocking it into the one next to it, both falling down as Zorua managed to pass them.

"Hey, can they do that?" Jason asked, looking at this on a big screen for the spectators to see as Yae nodded and replied, "Yes. After all, this is a Pokemon tournament. Why not let them use their abilities?" Nathan folding his arms and grinning while the owners of the two victims scowled at him.

Among the three, Dana was probably fairing the worst as Queen was stuck in thirty-first. However, upon seeing two others recovering from an attack, the spider narrowed her eyelids before shooting a String Shot into a Swoobat's backside, reeling herself in and swinging herself in front of the bat before shooting a web out of her rear end into the bat's face before it could fight back. This caused the bat to be trapped in a web, Dana feeling rather dirty about having her Galvantula cheat like that.

With that, the Pokemon now entered the forest, Zorua about to reach first when grey mushroom with a cap that resembled half of a Pokeball called Amoongus leaped high on top of the fox's back, crushing her spine a bit before heading onward, Zorua slowly getting up as a whole group of Pokemon passed her, Jack fuming before snapping, "COME ON, DON'T LET HIM DO THAT!" Nathan rolling his eyes and sighing, "She can't hear you."

Luckily for Jack, though, Zorua wasn't going to stand for this as she leaped atop a Gothitelle's head, forcing her face into the dirt before leaping ahead of a group of others, bounding away. All the while, Queen was managing to keep up rather well thanks to her String Shot until moth with a blue shell and orange pedal-like wings called Volcarona sent a stream of fire toward spider, the fire forming a ring around her as Queen stopped briefly. This move was Fire Spin.

But just as Dana felt she'd lost for sure now, Queen remembered her desire to win for her master and charged toward the flames, running right through them, ignoring the burns she'd received for doing so. All the while, Celeste was doing an excellent job.

The Pidove managed to get in first and was quite far ahead of the others. Unfortunately, this caught the attention of a rock with two eye holes, a bulky build and three legs similar to those of a spider called Boldore. Seeing this, the rock conjured up a rock and fired it into the dove's back, Celeste crying out in pain and falling flat on her face, Nathan's eyes wide with shock as she lay there, trying to get up with another trainer's Blitzle galloped over her, leaving hoof marks on her back.

This was terrible, and to make matters worse, Celeste wasn't able to get up in time to avoid ending up in last place. Seeing this, Jack fumed while thinking, 'Come on, how can I battle you if you don't make it to the finals?'

Luckily, Zorua was well aware of her master's intentions and decided to help Celeste by ramming her body into another. Unfortunately, this creature was a small being made of sky blue rocks, what looked like a medal strapped to its front. This was the first form of Golurk, Golett. Zorua ended up scraping her leg by attempting to elbow it and cried out in pain, winding in second-last, soon to be last until Celeste looked with concern, helping the fox up as Zorua stared with shock, smiling and nodding, the two knowing that each one wanted her master to get in the top sixteen, both deciding to help each other out. But would this team-up be enough?


	30. Chapter 30

Pokemon Legacy

Note: The whole pachinko machine concept is heavily inspired by a scene from the Choujin Olympics arc in Kinnikuman Nisei/Ultimate Muscle. The only major different is that the trainers aren't inside the pachinko balls.

Soon enough, all of the Pokemon got to the one part they were all dreading, the pond. As luck would have it, Queen actually wasn't having too difficult of a time getting across. Despite not containing water strider DNA, the Galvantula was able to swim across pretty easily. Some trainers had made the smart decision of going with a water type for this while others had stupidly assumed some of their heavier and more muscular Pokemon could get across easily. Naturally, Zorua was happy seeing the Golett struggling to get across.

This was a perfect opportunity for Zorua and Celeste as the Pidove held the fox-like being in her talons by the shoulders. When approaching, though, Zorua gave Celeste a signal, thrusting her paw forward as the pigeon nodded, hurling Zorua forward as she fell into the water, dog-paddling across. While swimming, she managed to slow down a good number of Pokemon by ramming into them before making across, ending up in thirty-eighth while Celeste flew on ahead into thirty-second.

While flying, though, she also stirred up a powerful wind with her wings, using her Gust Attack to blow some of the Pokemon she'd past forward, causing them to fall on their faces. Zorua took full advantage of this, soon catching up with the bird and grinning at her. Of course, they had to stay focused. After all, they were already half-way through the race. They needed to hurry if they wanted to be in the top twelve.

During this time, Nathan smiled and said, "I don't know why they're helping each other, but at least it's doing wonders for them so far," Jack grinning before adding, "I know why my Zorua is helping your loser Pokemon, but I won't tell. Just consider yourself lucky it's working."

Nathan rolled his eyes and shrugged, Dana feeling so proud of Queen right now for making it into tenth place by herself. She still felt it unorthodox that the spider was using her silk to do it, but at least it had proven itself effective.

Now Celeste was back to carrying Zorua, whizzing straight through all the others, even coming in sixteenth until things suddenly took a turn for worse. That other Blitzle that he trampled Celeste earlier noticed the two closing in and narrowed its eyelids, sending an electric spark back toward the Pidove, Celeste's eyes going wide as she quickly hurled Zorua forward, taking in the electric blast as the fox landed firmly against the ground.

But instead of advancing forward, Zorua turned toward Celeste and tried to help her up, the two going from sixteenth down to twenty-fifth when Celeste slowly rose up, fuming. With that, she got up and picked up her ally without a second thought, her body starting to grow in length as she flew forward.

Her beak became pointed and yellow as pink feathers formed, representing eyelashes. With her body becoming thinner as well, Celeste had become Tranquill, Nathan and Dana's eyes sparkling when they saw this on the screen.

Zorua smiled with admiration as Celeste whizzed straight past a ton of opponents, making her way to thirteenth. The race was just reaching its end now, the Pokemon entering Excel City. They had to get ahead of that pesky Blitzle and fast. Before doing that, though, Celeste threw her wings backwards, letting loose Air Cutter, striking the ones tailing them to make sure they couldn't interfere.

With that, the Tranquill hurled Zorua toward Blitzle as she started to change too. Her body became much longer as she flipped forward, landing a big scratch on the back of the zebra's head, knocking him down. While running forward and taking care of the Pokemon in eleventh for Celeste, a big puff of red hair with black spikes of air sticking up appeared, a ponytail added at the very back for good measure. She had also sprouted three visible red claws on each paw, her body now very slender and more human-like. Zorua had now evolved into Zoroark.

Jack raised his fist in the air shouted, "YOU RULE!" as the top twelve contestants finally came into the area, claiming their place. The first to cross the finish line was a small purple cat known as Purrloin, a skinny girl with glasses and braids in her hair holding it up and squealing, "I knew you could do it, Katie!"

The next to cross was a chocolate brown creature with a white puff of hair that resembled a cotton ball simply known as Whimsicott, a young boy dressed like a gardener giving it thumbs up. Third place was a Sandile, tough-looking man giving a high-five to the reptile's tail.

Following close behind in forth was a small parrot with scales on its beak known as Archen, the bird perching atop the shoulder of a young woman in explorer's gear, the woman stroking its chin with her finger. Placing fifth was a mummy-like being with a shell for a head called Accelgor, a middle-aged man in a business suit petting it atop the head.

Literally tap-dancing into sixth was a small Goth girl with a purple face and black all over the rest of her body, some of it representing big puffy pigtails while her lower body looked like a dressed. This was the pre-evolution of Gothitelle, Gothorita. Her owner was a girl wearing Goth makeup, the girl giving the Pokemon a hug.

Queen had managed to pass in seventh, Dana squealing and petting the spider saying, "Excellent job," Queen bowing her head to her master.

Charging into eighth was a Bouffalant owned by a rather shrimpy-looking kid with glasses, short green hair with a mushroom cut and clothing that clashed. Sure, it was a weird pairing, but it seemed to work. Scampering into ninth was a gopher with a long slender build and yellow striped on its fur that kind of resembled a T-shirt. This was Watchog, and it belonged to a police officer, the young woman petting the groundhog.

In tenth was the Volcarona from earlier who was owned by a boy in a sophisticated outfit, the boy petting his partner atop the head and saying, "Exquisite work as usual, but next time, try to look more impressive than a tenth-place runner-up," the moth nodding and bowing its head.

Finally, placing eleventh was Zoroark followed by Celeste in twelfth, both barely making it to the finals as they breathed heavily. Nathan had Celeste perch herself atop his shoulder, having quite a bit of trouble holding her up now with her recent weight gain before stroking her head saying, "Excellent work, Celeste," Zoroark giving her master a high five, Jack exclaiming, "You are awesome! We're gonna dominate this thing for sure, now!" the two then pounding their fists together.

Nathan smiled lightly at the sight of this. He wasn't used to seeing Jack act so friendly towards a companion before, but it was a refreshing sight nonetheless. Either way, the finalists had been chosen as the remaining thirty-three contestants crossed, having to deal with their loss.

"And that wraps up the sporting events!" Yae exclaimed as everyone cheered, "Now you're free to enjoy the rest of the day however you see fit as tomorrow is when the order is decided and the battle portion begins!"

With that, Jacob, Dana, Jason along with Jacob and his friends went out to a fancy restaurant to celebrate, Jacob and Izy even bringing Rachel along, refusing to let Roxanne know where they were. They soon sat down at their seats, Izy saying, "That was awesome! I mean, it looked like you guys were gonna lose and then that Pidove and Zorua evolved... and the way they worked together so well, it's a shame you and Jack may have to fight at some point," Nathan shrugging and replying, "I'm sure he's looking forward to that. I wouldn't be surprised if he had his Zoroark help Celeste just so I'd make it to the battle portion."

Nodding, Janette took a bite of food and said, "Well, you'd better work hard. There's a fairly big chance you two won't be fighting in the first round. If you want your official battle, you'll both need to make sure you face each other."

"I still don't get why there are twelve finalists," Jason stated, resting his chin on his hand, "Does she intend to have three trainers battling at once in the final round?" Jacob replying, "That wouldn't surprise me too much, actually. The Ultimate Pokemon Challenge for me had some very strange rules. The first round was pretty casual, but then we had to team up with who should have been our next opponents, battle our partner in the next round, then battle in a certain landscape that would change every time a Pokemon was beaten... it was interesting to say the least."

Anna nodded and said, "It was also just battles, no sporting events," Dana replying, "Wow, the battle segment must have been long, then," Jacob nodding before adding, "Five rounds to be exact," Izy adding, "It seems odd to call it a segment when it was the whole tournament," Dana giggling and blushing a bit, rubbing the back of her head.

"Anyway, this is a big deal," Nathan said with a light smile before letting out a sigh, "We'd better be ready. I'm kind of hoping to face you at some point, Dana," the girl squeaking a bit, her eyes going wide as she said, "Right, I almost forgot about that. Yeah, we might actually have to at some point," Nathan rolling his eyes and patting the girl on the shoulder, saying, "Don't wimp out on me, Dana. You're better than that."

Rachel suddenly started crying as Izy sighed, looking around before patting the baby's back, burping her. Unfortunately, this proved ineffective as the woman slapped her forehead, making funny faces and even bouncing him a bit. Unfortunately, this didn't work either as she asked, "Seriously, now?" Jacob nodding and saying, "I think she's made it pretty obvious," Izy groaning, "I hate doing this in public," letting down a section of her shirt and allowing the baby to feed before asking, "Why don't we buy milk bottles?"

"Because if we did, Rachel would never grow up to strong like her mommy," Jacob replied, Izy rolling her eyes and smiling before kissing him on the cheek saying, "You are such a sap," Anna and Janette giggling at this as Jason was trying to keep his eyes off.

While the group ate their food, they noticed Jack enter, his Samurott by his side as he asked for a table for seven. He was given a table for eight, so one chair would remain empty. But wait, was he actually going to eat with his Pokemon? Nathan and the others had sent their Pokemon to a separate dining area, knowing they'd take up too much space for sure.

But as surprising as it was, it was rather heartwarming too. It showed just how much Jack respected and even possibly liked his Pokemon. At first, it was pretty clear he saw them as nothing more than tools, but now he treated them like actual family.

"I will never understand that guy," Jason said as Dana shrugged, replying, "Well, people do change for the better sometimes," Jason remarking, "Doesn't change the fact that he was a heartless prick when we first met him," then turning to Nathan added, "You were his partner in crime. Has he always been like this?" Nathan nodding his head.

"Partner in crime?" Izy asked as Jacob sighed, "Remember, he's a former Team Shadow agent," Izy nodding and saying, "Right... I forgot... I mean, it's not exactly an easy story to believe."

"Tell me about it," Jason replied, the group laughing as they enjoyed the rest of their meal. Despite all of their Pokemon eating in another room, it didn't cost too much as Pokemon ate for free. After that, Nathan and Dana spent the rest of their time outside training. Jack felt really confident in his partners, so he simply headed off to his room so they could get extra rest in.

As he was about to enter, the owner said, "Uh, sir, are you sure you'd rather not return that Samurott of yours?" Jack remarking, "Bite me. He won't return to his Pokeball even if I wanted him to."

The following day, the final twelve contestants were lined up in the arena, waiting for the moment of truth when the match-ups would finally be decided. Yae stepped out onto the stage with Pep joining her, making a big unnecessary cheer, the audience once again confused, some giving her a pity clap.

However, things got much more interesting when Yae pressed a button, directing everyone's attention towards a huge machine with pegs, round obstacles and and what looked like containers coming out of the wall back of it, a big screen of plastic over the front. This was known as pachinko machine and was often found in casinos.

Everyone stared in amazement at this, Amanda rather surprised to see a machine used for gambling in an event that was being broadcast for everyone on cable TV. However, most weren't too offended by this as most little children probably weren't too familiar with the concept and didn't know it was used for such purposes.

Yae then proceeded to point to a group of balls used for the machine, each with a face of one of the twelve trainers painted onto it, and explained, "This machine here will decide who will be facing who in this tournament and in what order. The slots represent the order itself. So whoever has the ball with his or her face on it fall into the far left slot will face whoever's ball falls into the one next to it and so on."

Jack noticed a row of four slots located above the eight ones at the bottom and pointed asking, "Hey, what's with those other slots?" Pep grinning and replying, "Excellent question! See, this is the whole reason there are only twelve of you! See, whoever has his or her ball land into one of the higher slots will skip a round and face the winner of the first one. Like, the winner of the first battle will move on to face the trainer who's ball is in the higher slot closest to the left."

Some member of the crowd, Jason included, found this concept rather confusing, but most caught onto it pretty quickly. This meant that if Jason, Dana or Jack's balls fell into any one of those four slots, they could advance to the second round without even trying. Sure, it was a strange concept, but an interesting one nonetheless.

With that, the balls were released, some of them hitting up against one-another as the trainers watched with anticipation. After about half-a-minute, the balls started to reach the slots near the bottom. Dana noticed hers just about to sink into one of the top four only for it to be knocked aside by the one representing the gardener, falling into the lower slot second from the left.

Nathan's fell into the far right slot, meaning he was going to fight the final battle of the first round, his opponent being the owner of the Purrloin. Jack's fell into the third slot from the right, so he was going to fight the third battle. He was a tad disappointed not to be Nathan's opponent, but he felt confident that he would beat his adversary, the shrimpy kid with the glasses and mushroom haircut.

Dana's opponent was the owner of the Volcarona, the smug man simply curling his nose and groaning, "I have to face the owner of a spider? How degrading," Dana frowning and folding her arms, glaring at him.

Fighting in the second battle were the Goth girl and the explorer, the other top slots being filled by the tough Sandile owner, the police officer and the business man. With that, the slots were all filled as Yae exclaimed, "Well, that's that, folks! The trainers will have an hour to prepare before the first battle, which will be between Dana and Russel!"

The crowd cheered as Nathan smiled lightly, giving Dana thumbs up as Jason spat, "YOU SHOW THAT RICH GUY THAT MONEY ISN'T EVERYTHING!" Russel sighing, "Money is everything. It bought me all of my Pokemon and made me the trainer I am today," folding his arms and walking out of the arena, getting ready to prepare himself.

While waiting, Dana simply had her Pokemon do a few exercises, but nothing that would strain them too much. After all, she needed them in good shape for their battle. Seeing how well they did, she gave all six a big group hug, a sweet smile on her face.

Meanwhile, Russell was preparing too, but not in the way Dana was. Rather, he was doing up his hair and making sure he looked good for the battle. He didn't feel making his Pokemon fight each other or stretch their muscles before a battle was worth it. He felt that it was a waste of energy.

With that, the other contestants sat in reserved seats provided specifically for the finalists so that they could go to the training rooms right away after the battle took place. The tough man who owned the Sandile was dead-set on catching every second of this battle. After all, he'd have to face the winner in the second round.

Yae noticed everyone in the crowd talking and sighed, tapping the microphone again as everyone closed their ears, shutting up as the professor smiled sweetly saying, "Now that I have your attention, it's time for the first battle to begin! On the Western side, we have Dana!" the crowd going wild as Dana entered, Roxanne's eyes sparkling as she said, "Wow, Jacob, your new friend is so pretty," Jacob's eyes going wide as he grinned nervously, nodding his head and turning around, burying his hands in his face while Izy patted him on the shoulder, Rachel clapping for Dana.

"And on the Eastern side, we have Russel!" Yae exclaimed as Russel entered, receiving a few cheers as well as he smiled saying, "Well, it's good to know some people have respect for those with status," straightening his bow tie before pulling out a Pokeball, Yae pointing and shouting, "Ah-ah-ah, you have to wait until we decide who will send in the first Pokemon!" bringing up a big roulette, one half representing Dana and the other representing Russel.

"Ah, yes, of course," Russel said, "How silly of me. That's such an obvious rule too," Dana giggling a bit at the sight of Russel admitting to his own mistake. And so the roulette started up, soon landing on Dana's face, meaning she would be the first to choose a Pokemon.

Note: I apologize to anyone offended by a certain passage that takes place at a certain point, but keep in mind this is PG-13 and, hey, at least Izy's discreet about it.


	31. Chapter 31

Pokemon Legacy

Dana had to think hard about this. Who should go first? After all, the rule was that each trainer could only use three Pokemon maximum for the battle. She needed to think carefully about this.

However, remembering that Russel had a Volcarona, she realized one good choice and grinned before hurling a Pokeball forward, sending in Edmond. Since Volcarona was weak against rock type attacks, this seemed like a good choice.

However, Russel had no intention of using a bug type against another bug type, knowing that could put him at a disadvantage as he sent in a light-blue jellyfish with a thin body and a small round head called Frillish. Seeing this, Dana started to panic as she reached for her Pokeball, knowing Edmond was weak against water type attacks.

"Hold it!" Yae spat, "Trainers are not allowed to switch Pokemon until half-a-minute is up!"

"Ah-hah!" Russel exclaimed, grinning with pride and folding his arms, "I am clearly more intelligent than you. See, I studied enough about Pokemon to know of your insect's rock attributes and I happened to read the manual on all of the rules prior to this battle," his proud look turning into a smug one as Dana looked down with shame, Jason gritting his teeth and clenching his fists.

Of course, there was no rule book for trainers to pick up. Russel had simply bribed one of the owners to tell him of all this stuff ahead of time. Either way, this definitely spelled trouble.

However, Dana kept her chin up, refusing to give the rich man the satisfaction of knowing he'd outsmarted her. With that in mind, she started off shouting, "EDMOND, USE STEALTH ROCK!" the Crustle grinning and focusing hard, rocks appearing around him as he sent them into the air, raining them around the area. Russel blinked, noticing this had done no damage whatsoever to his Frillish and laughed, "That was pathetic!"

He then shouted a command as Frillish fired a burst of water out of the top of her head and raining it down upon Edmond, the scorpion hiding in his shell but still taking in heavy damage. Dana was about to come up with some payback before the jellyfish opened up her mouth, forming a sphere of water in front of her before launching it toward Edmond, the Crustle taking in the ball, his eyes then swirling. He had just taken in Water Pulse, an attack that sometimes confused the target.

"Come on, Edmond, fight it!" Dana squeaked as the scorpion proceeded to raise his claw, striking himself in the face, Russel smiling smugly, his arms folded and his head pointed upward, Dana realizing it had been more than thirty seconds since the battle started, returning her bug as Russel said, "Oh, right, I forgot you could do that."

Dana then scowled, realizing she had two who were perfect for this job, sending in Electra as the flying rodent flew high into the air, Russel freaking out and reaching for his Pokeball, Yae exclaiming, "Ah-ah, Russel, it hasn't been thirty seconds since she called her replacement in!" Russel grunting as Dana chuckled, loving the irony of this situation.

To make things even better, Frillish went down easily with just one Electro Ball. This made Russel even more frustrated. Sure, Frillish had dealt plenty of damage to Edmond, but he hadn't exactly finished the job whereas the Emolga had done it easily, giving Dana the upper hand.

"YEAH, THAT'S WHAT I'M TALKING ABOUT!" Jason spat, the others cheering and clapping as Nathan smiled lightly, saying, "Not bad."

However, this was far from over as Russel knew just who to use for this. With that, he hurled a ball forward, sending in a big polar bear with a body shaped like a pyramid and sharp icicles coming out of its nose, kind of resembling a runny nose. This was known as Beartic, and being an ice type, this was certainly bad news for Electra.

However, as luck had it, an array of rocks rose up out of the arena, Russel staring with confusion as the rocks rammed hard into the bear, Beartic roaring out in pain. Dana smiled and said, "That's what Stealth Rock does," Russel growling, "So it does serve a purpose..."

This didn't change the fact that Emolgas were weak against ice type attacks, so Electra needed to be careful. However, Russel didn't leave her with enough time to think as he had his bear clap his hands together, unleashing a cold wind known as Icy Wind up towards the flying rodent. Electra attempted to fly away from it only for her lower body to end up caught in the wind, the mouse shivering a bit. To make matters worse, this attack always lowered the speed of whoever it hit.

However, before the polar bear could unleash a second one, Electra let out a fierce battle cry, firing a spark into the Beartic's head. Beartic simply ignored this as he unleashed another Icy Wind, this time hitting Electra's full body as she lost her balanced, falling toward the ground. Just as she was about to land, Beartic breathed ice into his hands, forming a huge icicle as he hurled it hard into the flying rodent, using Icicle Crash and knocking out the flying rodent for good.

Dana bit her lip, returning Electra as Russel folded his arms, a proud smile on his face. However, Dana wasn't too worried. Both were tied in terms of Pokemon, and right now, Dana knew exactly who to use.

Nathan and Jason also knew exactly who the girl was going to choose as she hurled her Pokeball forward, sending Pyro into the battle, the pig wrestler flexing his muscles and posing for the cheering crowd, Yae especially excited to see the Pokemon she had given Dana being used for this.

Russel's eye twitched when he saw this, but the smug rich man refused to show signs a weakness as he knew one attack that would help him in this battle. Sure, ice types were weak against fire types, but some of them also had water type attacks.

With that in mind, the man pointed forward and shouted, "BEARTIC, HIT THIS BEAST WITH BRINE!" the bear firing a stream of water into the air as it rained down upon the pig. However, Pyro seemed to endure this rather well despite it dealing heavy damage to him fired a blast of fire from his nostrils, hitting the bear with a flame thrower.

Russel bit his lip but was relieved to see that Beartic had withstood the attack. Still, he was worried and this slight miracle wasn't quite enough to change that. With that in mind, he had the bear use Brine again only for Pyro to dodge it this time, Dana saying, "Word to the wise... sometimes attacks the opponent isn't weak against are good for making them weak enough to take in the attack with the type advantage," the Emboar proving this fact as finished the bear off with Arm Thrust, ramming his palms repeatedly into his face until he passed out.

Pyro flexed for the cheering crowd as Dana grinned widely, Russel rubbing his temple and panicking. Now he was down to one and Dana still had two left. How could he possibly make up for this?

He knew his Volcarona wasn't going to help him too much. Not only did the bug not have an upper hand over Pyro, but Edmond would surely finish him off. With that, he realized someone who could overpower both Pokemon, a smug grin forming on his face.

With that, the man sent in a Carracosta, Pamela gasping, "Oh no, Dana's gonna have her work cut out for her," Dana biting her lip nervously. With Electra down for the count, she didn't have anyone with a type advantage left, with both Pyro and Edmond would have a hard time with this.

However, Dana couldn't give up. After all, she had the upper hand, and she knew that strategy mattered more than strength. As such, she swallowed hard and smiled with confidence, Russel rolling his eyes.

With that, Dana had her Emboar charge toward Carracosta, Russel having the tortoise charge at the pig as well, only he covered himself in a body of water, using Aqua Jet thus also allowing him to run faster. As the two collided, naturally, Pyro ended up taking in more damage and he flew backward, rolling a bit before stopping himself, breathing heavily. Now things had gotten bad.

Before Pyro could even attempt to strike the tortoise again, Carracosta sent a Water Gun into his face, the pig groaning in pain, looking as if he was barely able to stand. Dana knew she still had a few more seconds before she could return him as she noticed the tortoise charging toward the pig again before shouting, "COUNTER WITH ROLLOUT!" Pyro nodding and rolling up into a ball, rolling rapidly toward the turtle.

Much to everyone's shock, this actually managed to overpower the tortoise's aqua jet, despite the type disadvantage as the superior strength Carracosta's attack had. However, this didn't do a whole lot of damage as the tortoise had only taken in a slight pain to his stomach, Dana not waiting any longer before returning the pig.

"So you managed to keep your boorish creature going," Russel said, laughing a bit, "Don't forget, my Carracosta barely took in a thing back there. You're going to have to do better than that if you want to beat me."

"Don't listen to that fruitcake!" Jason snapped, but Dana had to admit, the man was right. Pyro, her strongest and most trusted ally, had barely done a thing to it. What chance did she have? Even Edmond wasn't in the best of condition when she returned him.

Nevertheless, she had to try. She couldn't go down without a fight. As such, Dana took a deep breath before sending the scorpion back in, Russel shaking his head, his eyes rolled upward before he turned back to the battle, having his tortoise use Hydro Pump.

However, Dana was prepared for this as she had Crustle hide in his shell. This managed to soften the blow just enough for the bug to withstand the attack, Russel having his Carracosta continue his assault. While this went on, Edmond tilted his shell forward a bit, exposing his back legs as everyone stared curiously, noticing his plan when he started moving forward, pushing his shell so he could do so with more ease.

Russel saw this and shouted, "DON'T LET HIM LET CLOSE TO YOU!" Carracosta keep up the assault only for Edmond to get close enough to reach his claw out, pinching the reptile's ankle as Carracosta cried out in pain, his leg bleeding a bit, Russel staring with horror.

The bug then exposed his entire lower body from his shell before sending his claws forward in an X formation, putting a big cut on Carracosta's belly, the tortoise bleeding a bit. Nathan clapped and said, "Great job," the muscle-bound trainer fascinated by this as the Crustle finished the job with Smack Down, the reptile out for good.

All went silent, Russel's eyes wide with shock, his teeth gritted together as he clenched his fists, fuming with rage now. Dana was also stunned. She hadn't really expected her plan to work, and yet she had won the battle.

With that, Pep rose her pom-poms in the air shouting, "The winner is Dana!" before performing a typical high school cheer, yelling, "Let's go, Dana! Let's go!" among other things while the crowd cheered for the girl, Dana bowing as Jason whistled in admiration, Jacob and Izy giving her thumbs up.

Nathan then walked over to Dana and patted her on the shoulder saying, "Excellent fight back there, Dana," the girl chuckling and saying, "Just winning one battle in this tournament feels awesome."

Russel then looked down as Dana said, "And I owe it all to hard work and strategy instead of just relying on power and money to win my battles," sticking her tongue out at the rich man as he sighed, "I guess you do have a point."

All went silent, everyone staring in shock. Had Russel just said what everyone thought he said? The man noticed everyone's expressions, rolling his eyes and exclaiming, "Yes, I said it! The girl's right! Are you happy!" the audience clapping as he chuckled a bit saying, "You know, it's funny, I should be upset over losing, but I feel like I just won something greater than any medal."

Dana smiled sweetly, walking over to the man and patting him on the back saying, "Well, good luck to you. That was a great battle," Russel turned his head and nodding before saying, "Yes, we should battle again some time when I become a real trainer."

With that, the man whipped out Carracosta's ball, aiming it behind him and returning the tortoise before walking out of the arena, the crowd clapping and cheering, Yae saying, "I have to say, that was a very touching conclusion. I hope the other battles are this interesting," Pep letting down tears and sniffing, "I know! That was beautiful! The friendship, the drama, the hardships, the lesson! It's like a movie come to life!"

Yae nodded before announcing, "We have an hour until the next battle comes up. Until then, everyone is free to do whatever they want. I highly recommend anyone who needs a bathroom break or wants to buy snacks do so now because you won't be allowed to do any of that stuff during a battle."

Dana's next opponent in the tournament got up from his seat, taking his leave, knowing just how to approach his battle with the girl. Seeing the certainty on his face, Dana was a bit nervous as Nathan noticed this, smiling lightly and saying, "Don't worry, Dana, I'm sure you'll beat him too," Dana letting out a sigh and smiling at Nathan, not wanting to let anything ruin this moment right now.

"Look at that crowd, acting as if that was the greatest victory ever," Jack grunted, "They haven't seen anything until I've gone up," getting up and going to get himself a bag of popcorn. He wasn't going to sit through another fight without being prepared.

After the hour passed, it was time for the second battle as everyone was assembled back into the arena except for Russel who had decided to return home and prepare for future battles. Jason let out a sigh and said, "Well, this is just great, we get done watching Dana's battle only to see a battle between two people we've never met before," Jacob rolling his eyes and saying, "It's not nice to play favourites. Besides, it's important to watch these battles and study the trainers. I don't think I need to mention the number of battles we had to sit through when I fought in the Ultimate Pokemon Challenge."

Jason nodded before folding his arms, still growing impatient for Nathan's battle. Even Jack fighting in this one would have sparked his interest more.

"In the Western side is the Gothic warrior of might, Shelley!" Yae announced, the crowd cheering and clapping, some of the boy whistling at the Goth girl as she entered, waving at the adoring crowd. She was rather surprised by the massive amount of male attention she was getting.

"And in the Eastern side is an explorer who's discovered many different fossils in her years, Miranda!" Pep squealed while the woman wearing the explorer outfit entered, also receiving plenty of applause as she smiled, not allowing herself to be too caught up in the moment.

Miranda then bowed to Shelley and said, "Well, I must say, it will be a pleasure to face you," Shelley nodding before looking closely at her opponent saying, "Oh my god, you make that outfit look so fashionable, it should be criminal."

The explorer blinked and asked, "Do I really look that good?" Shelley nodding and replying, "Yeah, you look amazing in that outfit. I don't think I could ever look as good," Miranda replying, "You probably could," laughing nervously, the crowd yelling curses, getting rather impatient as even Yae was getting bored, the professor yelling, "HEY, ARE YOU GUYS GONNA BATTLE OR WHAT!"

The two trainers nodded, Miranda laughing nervously as Shelley rubbed the back of her head, the two then getting ready to battle as Yae still had an angry look on her face. Pep simply patted her shoulder and said, "Try not to be so negative. Be peppy, like me," grinning as Yae proceeded to let out a deep breath saying, "You're right... that was very unprofessional of me."

With that, the roulette spun, soon landing on Shelley's face, the goth grinning before sending in her Gothorita, the crowd rather surprised she'd send in such an obvious choice so early. However, Miranda's pick was much more intriguing as she sent in a rather strange creature that shouldn't have even existed in this region. Everyone stared in shock as a thin light-brown creature stood there with a thin, flat head. Its hands were white blades and its legs were that of a bug. This was Kabutops.

Roxanne noticed everyone's shocked expressions asking, "What's the big deal? It's not even cute..." everyone glaring at her as Jacob sighed, "Goddammit, Roxanne, why do you have to be so clueless when it comes to extinct Pokemon?"

"Oh my god, where did you get that?" Shelley asked, really amazed by this as Miranda smiled and replied, "As Yae mentioned, I've found a lot of fossils during my years as an explorer, and I've revived quite a few as well. I happened to find this baby when my father took me on an expedition in the Kanto region."

Everyone, even Jack, was really fascinated by this. One thing was for certain though, this would not be easy for Shelley as she knew nothing of Pokemon from other regions.


	32. Chapter 32

Pokemon Legacy

The battle started up with Shelley having her Gothorita form a bit of energy in her hands before firing it forward in the form of a Psybeam, Kabutops lowering himself quite a bit before leaping high into the air right over the beam. Seeing this, Gothorita attempted to redirect the beam upward only for it to stop going when she did so, the ancient bug performing an array if forward flips in the air before descending toward the gothic creature, slashing his claws into his head.

This caused Gothorita's head to bleed as she held onto it, light tears forming as she bit her lip, not wanting to look pathetic before her owner. She could see Shelley already growing concern, so the Goth bit her lip and decided to just roll with this.

"Excellent work, Kabutops!" Miranda exclaimed, clapping her hands together, "That execution was first rate! But wait until I tell you to do that next time," the bug rubbing the back of his head, letting down an embarrassed sweat drop.

Shelley needed a strategy, and she knew just the thing as she gave her Gothorita a command, the gothic creature focusing hard, an aura briefly surrounding her. However, this didn't seem to do anything as Kabutops rushed in for another attack. However, Shelley knew just how to respond.

"C'MON, GOTHORITA, CRY!" Shelley spat, everyone staring in confusion as Gothorita proceeded to sniff, tears trickling down her face as Kabutops stopped and stared, blinking. Suddenly, an aura surrounded him as Shelley said, "Now let him see your tired face."

This was even more confusing as Gothorita drowsily made her way over to the ancient bug, punching him hard in the face seconds later for a Faint Attack. While the creature was down, Gothorita proceeded to jump on top of him and start tickling him, the bug breaking out into hysterics.

"What the hell was that?" Jason asked, really confused by this as Anna smiled sweetly before saying, "That was a brilliant strategy," Janette nodding and adding, "First Gothorita used Fake Tears not only to get Kabutops off guard but also lower his special defense. Then she used Faint Attack to knock him down before using Tickle, a move that lowers strength and defensive capabilities."

This really showed as Kabutops forced the gothic creature off of him with Slash. However, despite causing a bit of blood to appear, Gothorita didn't seem to take in a lot of pain from it. She then let loose another Psybeam, this time hitting the bug and sending him flying into the wall right behind Miranda, the explorer's eyes wide with shock as she turned, looking with concern.

However, things seemed well then Kabutops appeared from inside the dust cloud covered in water, ramming his body hard into Gothorita's face. Though this dealt little damage, it still distracted her long enough for the bug to dig his claws into the the dirt in the arena, shooting it up into Gothorita's eyes for an improvised Sand Attack.

This stunted her vision greatly, Shelley now worried as she had Gothorita attempt to fire a ball made from bright blue energy called Psyball at the bug only for her to end up missing, hitting the wall with it just a couple of feet below the bleachers, an audience member staring wide-eyed as that he almost hit him. Kabutops took full advantage of this as he proceeded to strike the girl with a slash powered by dark energy called Night Slash, Gothorita crying out in pain.

But just as things looked their worst, everyone noticed a ball of pure energy appear quite literally out of nowhere, ramming hard into Kabutops and sending him flying into another wall, this time knocking him out for good as all went silent. Whatever just happened, one thing was for certain: Shelley now had the upper hand.

"Hey, Yae, what was that?" Pep asked as everyone else looked at the professor, even Nathan having trouble understanding this as Yae proceeded to explain, "That was an attack called Future Sight, a blast of power that's summoned from quite literally another time line. However, it takes a long time to work but is so powerful that it's worth the wait. When Gothorita glowed earlier, she was merely setting up for the attack. That big ball of energy was the result of it."

Everyone clapped in admiration as Shelley hugged her Gothorita before returning her and saying, "Good thing I can switch Pokemon less than thirty seconds in if you haven't decided on one," Miranda nodding and saying, "I have to admit, that really caught me off-guard."

Luckily, though, Miranda felt prepared when she saw Shelley's next Pokemon, a floating pink ball-like creature with purple flower designs on her body known as Munna. With that, Miranda sent in another Pokeball, this time sending in an odd-looking dinosaur with tan-coloured flesh on its torso and black all over the rest of her body, most notably her back, tail and legs. Her head was also shaped like a giant shield.

"What is that?" Pep asked, her eyes sparkling as Yae explained, "That's a Blastiodon," Jack's eyes sparkling all the while as he said, "Wow... that thing is so cool..."

Shelley was now a bit scared as this creature looked very tough. To make matters worse, she was strong against psychic types, though luckily for Miranda, Shelly didn't know this.

Just as Munna was about to increased her status in some way, Blastiodon stuck out her tongue, turning around and waving her rear end at the creature. This was known as Taunt, and it prevented Pokemon from using any abilities that didn't deal damage to the opponent. As such, Munna's attempted upgrade had failed.

"Alright, fine, we can win without status upgrades," Shelley said before shouting, "Use Zen Headbutt!" the round creature flying toward Blastiodon at incredible speed, a blue aura resonating from her forehead. However, Miranda gave Blastiodon a command as the dinosaur simply turned her head silver, Munna ramming hard into it, her eyes going wide as said forehead came open a bit, the round creature crying out in pain before Blastiodon fired a ball of white energy from her mouth, using Ancientpower and taking down Munna for good, Shelley's eyes wide with shock.

"How did you do that?" the Goth girl asked as Miranda shrugged and replied, "I simply took advantage of your rash thinking and had Blastiodon use Iron Head. But don't feel bad, you've never faced anything like my Blastiodon before," Shelley laughing before saying, "Yeah, I guess you're right about that, eh?"

With that, Shelley had to think hard. She didn't feel too confident about using Gothorita for this one, so she decided to send in a small alien-like creature that looked like a head attached to a tail-shaped body, a green energy surrounding him. This was Duosion.

Blastiodon once again started things up with Taunt as Shelley decided this hardly mattered, having her Duosion cover the dinosaur in a pink aura, hitting her with Psychic. This actually dealt quite a bit of damage as Blastiodon winced in pain, Shelley's confidence returning as she had the alien use Rollout, the creature landing his energy against the ground before it started rolling forward like a hamster ball in its own right, hitting the dinosaur hard in the face.

Unfortunately, due to Blastiodon's advantage of rock type moves, this only did a little bit as turned toward the returning Duosion, once again using Iron Head as Shelley spat, "DUOSION, STOP!" the Duosion doing just that, saving himself from the pain that was sure to ensue from such a tactic.

With that, he leaped back before using another Psychic, Blastiodon taking in more pain as Miranda realized keeping her in any longer probably wouldn't help much. As such, she returned her Blastiodon before sending in what looked like a green beetle with bird feathers coming from its sides and claw-like feelers. Attached to its head, which had a black face with red eyes, were two give round eyes sticking out of his head.

Seeing these rounded eyes, Shelley freaked out and spat, "What is that thing!" the creature looking at her as she shivered, "It's like it's staring into my soul..." Miranda laughing and saying, "This is just my Anorith."

Jason bit his lip, Jack saying, "It weren't for those eyes on the sides of its head, that thing would look pretty cool," even Nathan a bit creeped out but refusing to show it.

Shelley decided to ignore this and took a deep breath before shouting a command, having her Duosion roll toward this new target, knowing the alien-like creature had more of an upper hand here. However, it seemed Anorith was rather fast as he leaped to the side rather easily, Duosion stopping his assault before being struck on the back by X-Scissor, crying out in intense pain.

This was why Miranda had chosen the ancient bug type. Duosion was weak against them. However, the psychic type managed to overcome his pain before turning around and opening his mouth before unleashing a wave of sound from his mouth thus using an attack called Psywave.

Unfortunately, the amount of damage this generally dealt was random, and it seemed the attack didn't deal quite as much damage as it could have for Anorith barely showed any signs of pain before leaping at Duosion. He then proceeded to swipe his claws repeatedly into the alien Pokemon's face before Duosion finally took all he could bare, passing out.

Shelley sighed and returned him, now at the disadvantage herself as she bit her lip, feeling rather nervous. Things had started off rather easy for her, but now what was she to do?

Her confidence returned, though, when Miranda smiled and said, "You're doing an excellent job so far. You've been a great opponent," Shelley's eyes sparkling as she realized she couldn't stop the battle just yet, the girl sending in Gothorita.

"That poor girl doesn't stand a chance anymore," Jason said, "Gothorita's also weak against bug type attacks," Jacob nodding before saying, "Don't forget, a good strategy can overcome type advantage."

Miranda barely gave Shelley any time to think as she had her Anorith attempt Ancientpower. However, Shelley was determined to bring back her winning streak as she had Gothorita dance gracefully to the side, dodging the move.

Gothorita then proceeded to perform a ballet dance, twirling toward Anorith before holding out her arms, striking the bug in the face with Double Slap. She then focused hard, covering Anorith's body in a pink aura as his eyes started swirling, the Goth's confusion working.

"Anorith, ignore your confusion and strike her with something..." Miranda said nervously as the bug managed to ignore his confusion and fire a few rock into Gothorita's face with Rock Blast. Unfortunately, he was too confused to take advantage of the fact that the Goth creature was now distracted and rose his claw, striking himself hard in the face and knocking himself out, Miranda sighing and returning him.

Shelley squealed with joy and rose her fist triumphantly in the air, hugging her Gothorita before exclaiming, "That was incredible! Now we just have one more opponent to take care of!"

Unfortunately, she'd forgotten that this last opponent was Blastiodon, Miranda sending her in and saying, "This has been a great battle so far. If I end up losing to you, I wouldn't be in the least bit upset."

Shelley was still a little nervous though, especially when Blastiodon taunted Gothorita before the girl could even attempt to use a status-tampering technique. However, Shelley remained confident as she shouted, "Gothorita, confuse him too!" Gothorita using her Confusion once more, Blastiodon wincing in pain.

Unfortunately, while this had certainly dealt damage, it had failed to confuse the target as the dinosaur proceeded to charge toward the Goth, Gothorita too spellbound to move out of the way. And on that note, the thin Pokemon took in heavy damage before passing out, her eyes spinning as Shelley sighed, returning her.

With that, the crowd went wild for Miranda as she laughed a bit before walking over to a disappointed Shelley, holding her hand up with a warm smile on her face. Shelley looked up, her disappointment soon becoming acceptance as she held Miranda's hand, shaking it.

"That was an awesome battle," Shelley said as Miranda smiled, nodded and said, "Yeah, you were an excellent opponent."

With that, the two left the arena as Yae held the mic and stated, "Well, now that the first two battles are out of the way, it's time for a lunch break! We'll resume our scheduled battles after an hour and a half! Until then, enjoy yourselves for our next two battles are sure to be intense!"

With that, Nathan, Dana and Jason decided to have a lunch in the stadium's cafeteria while Jacob and his friends went elsewhere, figuring they should give Nathan some alone time with his best friends. The two boys were still congratulating Dana as she giggled, her cheeks flushed pink as she said, "Please, stop it, you two. You've congratulated me enough."

Nathan nodded as Queen gave her master a shoulder rub, Dana sighing with relief and saying, "Well, I do like the shoulder rub..." Nathan then putting on a more serious look saying, "You'd probably better look out for your next opponent. He was very attentive when watching your battle. He may have already come up with a way around your Pokemon."

Dana's eyes went wide as she said, "That's right... if I want to win this tournament, I'll have to defeat three more trainers."

Jason nodded and grinned before saying, "Well, I'm sure you can pull through," Nathan nodding and saying, "Just stay focused and you can surely beat him," Jason then grumbling, "Or just use Victini."

Dana shook her head and said, "Oh no, no, I refuse to use Victini for this tournament until it really counts. I just figure using him would be too cheap," Victini looking up from his food with wide eyes as Dana sighed, "No offence."

Nathan then patted Sammy on the head and said, "We're gonna nail them in our battle, aren't we, buddy?" the Excadrill grinning and giving her master a high five, Jason saying, "Oh yeah, you're going next. And if you beat your first two opponents, you may end up facing Jack in the semi-finals."

"That's what I'm counting on," Nathan replied, "I know he won't be satisfied unless we fight, and he's gonna be more determined to make it happen than I am."

"Well, it would make sense," Jason replied, "After all, you're both even in terms of victories now. Though honestly, Nathan, you may need to be careful. His team is almost fully evolved whereas yours is only half-way there," Nathan nodding before taking a sip of fruit juice, saying, "Don't you worry about a thing. I can take care of Jack."

Jason nodded before turning toward Mighty and Carmen, the two holding hands and leaning in for a kiss when Jason cut in, pulling out a tiny violin and singing, "Love is in the air, and it is more than fair," the monkeys slapping their foreheads, Jason having successfully ruined the moment but failed to realize it as he continued, "The gods have brought these two together. They'll stay true even in the worst kind of weather..."

The monkeys sighed before giving each other a light peck on the lips, figuring this would at least stop Jason from singing, and it did more or less work, but this was mostly due to Jason not having any more lyrics in his mind. Either way, things were certainly looking good so far.

Meanwhile, Jack was with his team saying, "Alright, our opponent is a pathetic nerd, but let's just assume he is actually a threat. What will you do?"

His Pokemon all gave him angry battle faces as the boy laughed with pride saying, "That's right, show as much aggression as possible! Never back down! Never say die!" the Pokemon cheering and clapping as Jack asked, "Are you gonna wipe the floor with that geek?"

The Pokemon let out a loud battle cry as Jack retorted, "I can't hear you!" the Pokemon all yelling even louder as their master rose his fist in the air shouting, "We'll be unstoppable!"

Either way, Jack and Nathan would certainly pay close attention to each other's battles. After all, them fighting was a top priority right now. Things had certainly gotten interesting.


	33. Chapter 33

Pokemon Legacy

After the remainder of the lunch break was up, everyone was back in the arena, ready for the next battle between Jack and that shrimpy kid with the glasses and mushroom cut. Unlike the last two battles when whoever won was anyone's guess, however, this time the vote was unanimous as the majority expected Jack to win.

"It's now time for the third battle of the first round of this tournament!" Yae exclaimed into the microphone, "We've seen two exciting battles so far, but that's just the tip of the iceberg! Let's give a round of applause for our next two fighters!"

She then pointed toward the Western side shouting, "On the Western side is a child prodigy who shows lots of potential! Give a warm welcome to Milo!"

As the small, shrimpy kid entered the arena, a few people in the audience gave a pity clap but not once did the kid receive any cheers. However, Dana felt rather offended by this as she got up and shouted, "Yeah, kid, do your best out there!" Nathan smiling lightly and chuckling a bit, the other trainers in the area staring at her with confusion. They just didn't realize this was the kind of person Dana was.

Not only that, but she felt a little sorry for the kid. It almost seemed like people were just looking down on him because of his dorky exterior and the fact that he was the only participant below the age of twelve. That was just plain discrimination right there.

"On the Eastern side..." Yae stated, pointing to the East now, "is a very aggressive and hot-headed young man who I can only hope has finally decided to be nice to his Pokemon now, Jack!" a smile on the professor's face as Pep stared at her, asking, "Um... what was that smack-talk for?" Yae blinking and ignoring the question.

Jack entered the arena and got many cheers, no one really understanding Yae's words either. Despite her meeting with Jack having taken place weeks ago, she still hadn't gotten over how rude he'd been when he first received his Oshawott from her. Little did she know that he had become more of a team player since then and even lightened up a bit in terms of his views on others.

The roulette started up as Milo was picking first, the geeky kid pushing up his glasses with a smile on his face before he sent in blue dragon with two heads and black fur covering his back and necks. Some of the hair also went over each head's eyes. This was known as Zweilous.

"Okay, kid that is WAY too cool for you to have in your team," Jack stated as Milo shrugged and replied, "Sticks and stones may break my bones, but words can't physically harm me," Jack blinking and staring before asking, "What the hell are you talking about?" Milo remarking, "Hey, that's a bad word," Jack's eye twitching. He already hated this kid.

But this was beside the point as already knew just who to use against a dragon, the boy hurling a Pokeball into the arena, his Fraxure taking form. Milo's eyes sparkled as he said, "Wow, that's so cool... and smart too. You knew that dragon Pokemon are weak against their own kind," Jack narrowing his eyelids before thinking, 'Is he implying that I look too dumb to know that?'

Either way, Jack was determined to make this as quick as possible. Sure, this kid had a couple of strong Pokemon, but Jack seriously doubted he was good enough to use them properly. If anything, Milo probably only made it to the tournament by having the gym leaders go easy on him because he was a kid and knew how to exploit that.

Either way, Fraxure started the battle off by firing a blue ball known as Dragon Pulse from his mouth. However, Zweilous saw this coming and countered with his own Dragon Pulse, both balls running into each other and cancelling each other out as an explosion formed. Fraxure took full advantage of this as he charged at the other dragon, setting up for Dragon Chop.

However, Zweilous managed to somehow see through the smoke as well as he bit into Fraxure's arms, the green dragon panicking and attempting to pry himself out only for his two-headed adversary to raise his heads up, sending them downward and slamming Fraxure hard into the ground. Everyone stared in amazement as Zweilous proceeded to hurl Fraxure into the air unleash Dragon Rage from both his heads, hitting Fraxure hard in the tummy and sent him flying into the air, the green dragon soon falling hard into the ground, already having trouble getting up.

Jack bit his lip, his eyes wide open as he stared in absolute horror at this, his eye twitching all the while. How could this be? His opponent was a small child with barely any experience in the field of training Pokemon. How could he possibly be dominating?

However, his tune soon changed when Fraxure finally recovered, Jack sighing with relief and saying, "Alright, Fraxure, that was but a minor setback. Now let's get some payback," the green dragon nodding with grinning as Milo folded his arms and said, "Ah, yes, denial, it can be a rather risky feeling to have," Jack retorting, "SHUT UP!"

Still, Nathan had to admit, he was rather impressed by this kid. He was also quite worried now. What if Milo had what it took to defeat Jack? Then he and Nathan wouldn't have their official battle.

All Nathan could do now was have faith in Jack. Hopefully, he'd turn this around. And Jack intended to do just that as he had Fraxure use Leer followed by Dragon Dance, the green dragon folding his arms and kicking his feet forward while an aura surrounded him.

Of course, Zweilous wasn't going to sit back and let this happen as he charged toward Fraxure, sending his heads forward for Double Hit. However, Fraxure was actually prepared this time as he grabbed onto both necks before the heads could close in, opening his mouth and sending a fierce Dragon Rage at Zeilous's midsection.

The two-headed dragon roared in pain before swinging both his heads into Fraxure's cheeks, the green dragon's eyes going wide as he held onto the sides of his head, freaking out while Sabrina bit her lip, hoping for the best. After all, she had hired Jack to find Nathan. She hoped her decision wasn't a bad one.

Jack could tell Fraxure wasn't standing much of a chance and quickly returned the dragon, saving him for later as Milo smiled and did the same with his Zweilous. Things had certainly gotten complicated, that's for sure.

However, Jack refused to believe this child could possibly be a threat as he shook his head and whipped out another Pokeball, sending in his Zoroark. However, as powerful as the fox was, using her was still a very rash move on Jack's part. After all, how did he know Milo didn't have something to counter that?

With that, Milo sent in another Pokeball, this time summoning a pair of snow kids that resembled ice cream scoops with cute faces atop a cone made of ice, an ice straw even sticking out on the left one's head, a couple of ice chunks representing hands. This was known as Vanilluxe.

Jack stared at this, silent for quite some time. Was this supposed to be a joke? Was Milo insulting him? On the plus side, this was what he'd expected a dork like the kid to have, but still... this was just irritating now.

However, rather than showing irritation, Jack then broke out into hysterics shouting, "YOU'RE GOING TO BEAT ME WITH ICE CREAM!" as rest of the crowd also breaking into heavy laughter, Jason saying, "You know, he's got a point. That thing does look pathetic."

"It looks delicious to me," Izy replied with a snicker, Roxanne groaning, "Talking food? God, that's just terrifying," Jacob asking, "Does anyone have a spoon?"

Even the gym leaders couldn't so much as pretend to take this seriously, Amanda and Chelsea even finding this hilarious. Even David, the most serious of the bunch, couldn't contain himself, Sabrina saying, "I can see why no one ever stole one of those things for me," even Dana and Nathan unable to show the kid pity here. But could anyone really blame them? After all, how could a pair of ice cream scoops possibly be threatening?

While Pep giggled, even Yae, who often wished Jack wouldn't be so judgemental towards Pokemon who were different, couldn't help laughing at this as Vanilluxe looked down with shame, Milo smiling and saying, "Don't worry about it, guy. That just means the opponent will underestimate you," pointing at a laughing Zoroark and added, "You know what to do."

With that, the two cones nodded before sending a blast of ice from their mouths called Ice Beam at Zoroark, the fox skidding across the ground, wincing in pain as Jack's laughter finally stopped, the boy horrified when he saw Zoroark trapped in a big chunk of ice. This was terrible as his fox ally was now frozen.

As if things couldn't get worse, the ice cream cone proceeded to summon a big, orange fiery sphere called Weather Ball and hurl it towards Zoroark, the fox crying out in pain. Luckily, it managed to break open her ice, but it still hurt. Luckily, it was a normal type move, so it wasn't as if the ice made it feel any hotter or anything.

All in all, though, Jack couldn't take Milo lightly anymore. He'd already made this mistake twice and it was biting him in the butt so far. As such, he had the fox unleash a pitch black shock wave called Night Daze, Vanilluxe taking in heavy damage from this, wincing in pain before attempting to strike with another Ice Beam. Luckily, Zoroark's attack had lowered the ice cream's accuracy as he ended up missing, Zoroark using Agility to increase her speed before charging at Vanilluxe, landing a fierce Night Slash to his face, finally taking him out.

All went silent as Zoroark rose her arm up high in the air, the crowd going wild as Jack folded his arms and said, "Excellent work, Zoroark. Now we're ahead of the game," Milo pushing up his glasses and saying, "This battle's only just started," Jack sighing, "Kid, I'll admit, you've proven yourself to be tougher than you look, but now I know it, so I'm not gonna hold back anymore. You best just give up and go home."

With that, Milo smiled, hoping for this as he sent in a Pawniard. Jack simply stared at this and shrugged saying, "Interesting choice, but I'm sure I can handle this." And to the best of Jack's knowledge, he most likely could. After all, he had a Bisharp, Pawniard's second form.

Unfortunately, Zoroark did have a slight disadvantage here. After all, with Pawniard's steel attributes, he wouldn't take in a whole lot of damage. However, Jack was confident, so this didn't really bother him.

Zoroark opened up by charging toward Pawniard, preparing for the worst. However, strangely enough, the bug didn't even do anything as the fox sent a fierce slash to his face. However, Pawniard didn't even show so much as a reaction to this as he grabbed onto Zoroark's neck, flipping himself over onto her back and striking the back of her neck hard, the fox's eyes going wide as she coughed up a litre of blood, passing out.

Everyone stood there silent, Jack's jaw dropped, a look of fear on his face for the first time. He couldn't believe what he'd just seen. Not only had Pawniard ignored the damage as if it was nothing, but he'd defeated Zoroark in one hit.

"What was that?" Jason asked, "I mean, that looked like a pretty standard attack..." Izy nodding and explaining, "My Gliscor has that ability. It's called Guillotine. It defeats any opponent it hits in one blow regardless of how powerful or weak it might be."

With that, Milo had a look of pride on his face as Jack returned his Zoroark, shaking his head and figuring this was nothing. Maybe it was just because his Zoroark had taken in a lot of damage from Vanilluxe. Yeah, that had to be it. There was no way a first level Pokemon could be that strong against a second level, right?

With that in mind, he decided to give Milo a taste of his own medicine as he prepared another Pokeball shouting, "SHOW HIM HOW A REAL MAN DOES IT, BISHARP!" Bisharp taking form and folding his arms with pride, Milo blinking and staring at the evolved form with admiration. He had no idea that's what Pawniards became.

"Start things off with Metal Sound!" Jack shouted, Bisharp clanging his claws together and letting off a loud noise, Pawniard wincing as an aura surrounded him briefly. Bisharp then proceeded to use Leer, charging toward Pawniard and unleashing Fury Cutter.

Seeing this, Milo had his Pawniard use the same move, both bugs matching blows as they sent rapid strike after rapid strike, each one hitting the other's blades. However, much to everyone's shock, Milo's bug managed to attack a little bit faster, enough so that he'd managed to strike Bisharp in the chest. As this was the only attack either owned that could deal normal damage to each other, Bisharp took in rather intense pain as Pawniard continued to change his blades into pure steel, striking Bisharp on the face with Metal Claw. Strangely enough, this was just strong enough to release a green liquid, in other words, Bisharp's blood.

Jack was starting to freak out again. This couldn't be happening? Why was this Pawniard so strong? It made no sense. However, he refused to let this get to him as he had Bisharp attempt Iron Head only for Pawniard to block the incoming headbutt with his blades, applying enough force to send Bisharp flipping backwards, soon falling on the back of his neck, groaning in pain.

Seeing this, Jack growled before shouting, "COME ON, BISHARP, ARE YOU GOING TO TAKE THAT!" the bug fuming and recovering, shaking the pain off of his neck before charging at Pawniard, Pawniard attempting to strike again. However, Bisharp managed to dodge to the right, unleashing Fury Cutter to his pre-evolutionary form.

Unfortunately, this wasn't enough as Pawniard ignored the pain, sending a slash to Bisharp's face as the bug bled a little bit more, passing out as everyone stared in shock. They couldn't believe this. How could a Pawniard overpower a Bisharp?

Milo smiled and said, "Joke's on you, Jack. See, my Pawniard has seen far more battles than your Bisharp most likely has," Jack blinking and asking, "How is that possible? I mean, wouldn't it have evolved by now?"

Milo shook his head and replied, "See, all Pokedexes come with a little something called the B button," pulling out his own and pointing at it, Izy, Anna, Janette and Jacob all too familiar with this while Yae blinked, saying, "Wow... someone actually used that thing? I thought it was pretty much useless to most people."

"Wait, what's a B button?" Jason asked as Jacob explained, "See, if a trainer presses it before a Pokemon evolves, it stops the evolution from happening. Some trainers do it when they don't want their Pokemon changing form."

"Well, that's stupid..." Jason said, soon remembering what Steve had evolved into and shuddered thinking, "Never mind, I can definitely see the good in such a tactic," Steve, who was out of his ball along with the other monkeys folding his arms and glaring at him, Jason laughing nervously and letting down a sweat drop.

Seeing this, Jack bit his lip, letting down nervous sweat. He'd never felt so weak in his life. This Milo kid was too smart and had picked such powerful Pokemon for his team. What chance did the boy have?

But just as it looked like he was going to give up of all things, Nathan got up and spat, "HEY, JACK, WHAT DO YOU THINK YOU'RE DOING!"

Jack stared, Dana equally shocked by this as Nathan added, "Come on, Jack, you're one of the toughest people I know! So what if he outnumbers you in terms of Pokemon? The Jack I know would never give into something like that! Forget about your current disadvantage and turn it into an advantage!"

Jack couldn't believe what he was hearing. Not only was he getting support, but it was from Nathan of all people? It was then that he could see it in his eyes: Nathan truly believed that he and Jack would face each other in the semi-finals.

With that in mind, Jack took a deep breath and said, "I wasn't gonna give up, you moron," a smile briefly forming on his face before he sent Fraxure back in, the green dragon letting out a fierce battle cry. This was it, he had to win now at all cost.


	34. Chapter 34

Pokemon Legacy

Pawniard once again held a defensive stance, waiting for Jack to make the first move as Jack thought, 'Alright, if this battle has shown me anything, it's that his Pawniard is able to withstand multiple blows and is very quick to react.'

Then biting his lip a bit, he narrowed his eyelids and added to that thought, 'Now how do I get around that?' realizing the answer, which was so obvious he should have come with it sooner, the boy grinning and thinking, 'Jackpot.'

With that, he pointed forward and had Fraxure use Dragon Rage, Pawniard's eyes going wide as he held up his blades, blocking the attack. While the bug was distracted, Fraxure proceeded to send a Dragon Claw into one of his arms, causing it to cut open, blood dripping down as Pawniard cried out in pain.

Fraxure then unleashed a Dragon Pulse into the bug's face, an explosion surrounding his head as the Pawniard finally showed signs of pain, the smoke clearing as he passed out. The crowd went wild at the sight of this as Jack grinned, glad to have finally tied the game up.

Unfortunately, Milo's last Pokemon was Zweilous, and this thing had given Jack plenty of problems earlier. The kid smiled with confidence before saying, "I'm impressed you beat my Pawniard, but you'll never beat up my Zweilous," sending the blue dragon back in.

However, Jack simply took a deep breath, thinking, 'Come on, it's a dragon type... I got the upper hand here...' not even bothering to remind himself that technically, Milo did too. However, Jack knew he had to be smart, not rash. Zweilous had proven himself to be a very crafty opponent before.

With that, Jack had Fraxure open up with Leer followed by Dragon Dance, raising the creature's speed again. He needed Fraxure to be able to dodge, but Milo was willing to take advantage of this as he had his dragon sent in two Dragon Pulses with both heads.

However, Jack noticed an opening between the two, knowing that opening would be gone within seconds as he spat, "FRAXURE, JUMP THROUGH THAT GAP!" the green dragon nodding and leaping forward, turning to his slide mid-way and successfully dodging the incoming spheres, the crowd going wild, very impressed by this display.

After that, Fraxure closed in on Zweilous, the dragon trying to hit him with his heads again only for Fraxure to send two karate chops, each hitting one of Zweilous's necks, the dragon coughing up a bit of blood as the green dragon proceeded to ram his head into Zweilous's body.

Unfortunately, this hadn't quite done enough as Zweilous ignored the pain in his necks, ramming his heads into Fraxure's cheeks, the dragon starting to falter as Jack grimaced only for his Fraxure to be knocked back by another Double Hit. Zweilous then proceeded to hit him with Dragon Pulse, Fraxure lying there, his leg twitching as Jack stared in absolute horror, silence filling the area. Had he... lost?

"No..." Nathan said, his body shaking as he realized his battle with Jack may never happen now, Dana biting her lip before saying, "He was close, too..."

Yae saw the situation and said, "And on that note, the winner is..." but stopped when she noticed Fraxure quickly get up, or rather sit upright, breathing heavily. Milo stared in absolute shock as Jack grinned, but all went silent as the green dragon's scales turned yellow, the dragon rising to his feet as if he'd taken in no pain at all. But the change didn't end there.

Soon, the blades on the sides of his mouth were replaced by axe heads, the dragon becoming much taller and thinner. His spikes were still the same size, only now he had more of them.

Jack's eyes sparkled, a very rare sight indeed, as he pulled out his Pokedex, opening it up as he read aloud, "Haxorus, the third form of Axew..." the boy then leaning inward before raising his fists in the air shouting, "ALRIGHT! YOU'RE AWESOME! LET'S FINISH THIS JOB!" the dragon nodding with grinning before charging at Zweilous, the blue dragon trying to strike him with Dragon Pulse only for the yellow dragon to leap over it, flipping multiple times in the air before soaring into the two-headed adversary hard, using Giga Impact.

Zweilous couldn't take anymore damage as his heads dropped hard against the ground, his feet lifted upward as his body soon fell as well. With his wings drooping down, everyone knew that Zweilous had been beaten and roared, Yae announcing Jack's victory as the boy rose his fist in triumph.

"IN YOUR FACE, YOU LITTLE SNOT!" Jack spat, pointing at Milo, Nathan planting his palm against his face and shaking his head saying, "That was just mean," Dana nodding in agreement.

However, Milo didn't seem at all offended by this as he returned his Zweilous, bowed his head and said, "You sure showed me," laughing a bit as Jack blinked, shrugging and refusing to question this before saying, "Kid, here's a hint of advice: try the tournament again when you're at least fifteen, otherwise I'll one-up you a second time," the teen walking out of the arena for a break and to heal his Pokemon. After all, they'd taken in a lot more pain than he'd first expected.

During his own break, Jack was training his Pokemon's abilities in a room specifically designed for this, Jason and Dana watching as Jason said, "Now that his Fraxure's evolved, Nathan's really gonna have a hard time beating Jack now," Dana smiling and saying, "Don't forget, this is Nathan we're talking about. I'm sure he can do this."

After a half-hour of training, Nathan smiled lightly and returned his Pokemon saying, "You're going to do great, I can just feel it."

After the hour was up, everyone was once again assembled and talking as Yae let out a sigh, bringing her hand close to the mic as one audience member noticed this, pointing and shouting, "EVERYONE, THAT PROFESSOR LADY'S GOING FOR THE MICROPHONE AGAIN!" everyone panicking and stopping their talking, Yae smiling sweetly before saying, "That's what I thought."

She then cleared her throat and exclaimed, "On the Western Side, a young man from my home town who certainly shows a lot of promise and even fought alongside David himself once," the crowd staring at David, admiration for Nathan in their expressions as the gym leader shrugged, Sabrina waving at the staring people, Yae adding, "Nathan!"

The boy with the black hair entered, the crowd cheering for him. However, the boy was really focused on his battle right now, not caring about the cheers. He gave Dana, Jason and the others a smile though, as he appreciated their support, but it was very brief and didn't distract him too much.

"And on the Eastern Side," Yae stated, "Coming from a simple family and getting very good grades in school, she went on to become a very successful Pokemon Trainer! Introducing Cassie!"

With that, the thin girl with braids, freckles and glasses entered, the crowd clapping for her as well as she looked up, smiling. She rather liked all of this positive attention. It made her feel more confident as she walked over to her spot on her side, looking at Nathan.

"May the best trainer win," Nathan said, bowing his head as Cassie nodded and thought, 'That's gonna be me. I won't dare let you take this victory away,' but the smile on her face hid these thoughts very well.

The roulette started up, landing on Nathan as the boy gulped. Now he really needed to be careful about who he chose. Looking over his Pokeballs, he knew right away who to go with as he sent in Sammy, his most trusted of allies. The Excadrill stood tall and proud as the crowd clapped, Cassie refusing to show signs of weakness as she knew right away who to use for this, pushing up her glasses and sending in a Scraggy, Nathan blinking at the sight of this.

In theory, this was a good idea as Scraggy as a fighting type, Sammy having a weakness to such creatures. However, it was also a first form, so the mole could still stand a chance here. With that in mind, though, Nathan also had to remember the whole B Button concept Jack had to deal with.

"Alright, Joseph," Cassie said, pointing forward, "hit that oversized gopher with Sand Attack!" the Scraggy known as Joseph nodding before standing up on his tail, spinning himself around as sand came up from the ground, hitting Sammy in the face, covering her eyes.

However, Sammy retorted by digging up two clods of dirt, hurling them toward the salamander who simply dodged the incoming Mud Slap with ease, leaping into the air and landing a fierce kick to Sammy's tummy. Sammy did her best to ignore this, now knowing when Joseph was as she took hold of him with one hand, scratching him in the face with the other as Nathan smiled.

However, the Scraggy proceeded to aim a low kick at a certain spot on Sammy's body, kicking it hard as the mole winced and released the hold, not really showing signs of intense pain as Cassie stared in confusion, asking, "Wait, isn't hitting that particular spot supposed to really hurt?" Nathan nodding and replying, "Yeah, it would if Sammy was a guy."

Cassie had a rather disappointed look as Yae stated, "You're lucky that Excadrill is a girl otherwise I could disqualify you for even attempting such a dirty tactic!" everyone else nodding and booing the girl, some females in the audience not getting it and actually supporting her decision.

However, Cassie took a deep breath and said, "You're right... I'm sorry I resorted to such a low tactic," then looked up exclaiming, "But we still have a battle to fight!" Joseph nodding before sweeping his leg out for another Low Kick, this time tripping Sammy and causing her to fall on her back, leaping onto her face and preparing a Focus Punch.

But just as it was about to hit, Sammy quickly opened her eyes, shaking the sand out and striking Joseph's side with Metal Claw, knocking him off of her as she got up, breathing heavily. So far this Scraggy was proving to be a very powerful opponent.

Nathan could see this too as he asked, "Sammy, do you think you can finish this?" the mole nodding as Nathan smiled lightly saying, "Well, you'd better do something awesome and quick because this Scraggy came pretty close to beating you just now."

Sammy gave her master thumbs up, a grin on her face as she dove into the ground, Cassie panicking as now the mole was using Dig. Depending on how precise the attack was, this could very well cost Joseph a potential victory.

Joseph closed his eyes, trying to hone in on the mole, but Sammy was too quick as she rose up, striking the lizard hard in the chest as it came open a bit, blood flying out. As Joseph fell to the ground, his tongue sticking out the side of his head, Cassie stared in absolute shock and horror as Jack grinned, knowing there was no way Nathan's best friend would go down so easily.

Cassie sighed and returned the salamander, a look of anger in her eyes as she growled, "So you've done a descent job so far! Big deal! I'll still win this battle!" Nathan blinking and shrugging, realizing it was only natural for a trainer to be like this during a competition. After all, he was certain this girl wasn't like this outside of battles.

Before Cassie could send in a replacement, Nathan quickly returned Sammy, knowing he was better off not using her anymore. This put Cassie at even more of a disadvantage as she had to pick a Pokemon before he did. As such, the girl decided to send in a small hawk-like creature with feathers like a lion mane around her head, blue feathers covering her torso and a big feather attached to her forehead. This was Rufflet.

Seeing as this was a flying type, Nathan didn't have to think twice before sending in Wilbur, the Blitzle taking form and letting out a fierce battle cry, Cassie trembling with fear. She hated to admit it, but she felt a little nervous going up against something like this. However, despite being at a disadvantage this time around, she knew she had to stay cool as she had her bird start things off with Air Slash, forming a big blade in the air with her wings and sending them toward the zebra.

Wilbur easily dodged this before unleashing Spark, electricity going down Rufflet's spine as she cried out in pain, Cassie shouting, "Come on, Sandy, ignore it!" the bird, Sandy, ignoring all pain while the attack was still going, soaring toward Wilbur while sending a fierce strike to his forehead with her beak, Wilbur bleeding a bit now as he howled in pain.

Nathan stared at this as Cassie squealed excitedly before exclaiming, "Alright, now we got him on the run! Let's hit him with Crush Claw now!" Sandy nodding as her talons started to glow, sending out sparks of energy before the bird flew at Wilbur, soaring over him and striking his back, causing that to bleed as well, the zebra crying out in agony.

Seeing this, Nathan had a look of fear on his face as the Rufflet went in for more, scratching the Blitzle's back and making the cuts bigger, her claws now dabbed with a bit of blood. Jason bit his fingernails, Jack gritting his teeth at the sight of this.

But as Sandy flew in for another strike, Wilbur scowled before stepped to the side, causing his opponent to miss a second lightning bolt formation appeared on his head to go along with the other, the first strangely moving a bit to the right.

Everyone was rather confused by this as the mane soon covered Wilbur's entire backside, his tail growing longer and more stripes appearing on him. His face also became a tad more narrow as his body grew in length, everyone applauding. Wilbur had just become a Zebstrika.

Sandy refused to let this get to her as she soared toward the zebra, Wilbur covering his body in electricity before charging toward the bird, hitting her with Wild Charge. Electricity coursed through the Rufflet's veins as she let out a loud cry, smoke coming from her as she passed out, the crowd cheering wildly as Nathan wiped nervous sweat off of his forehead.

However, while Nathan and his friends were happy with this result, Cassie was terrified. She'd already lost two of her Pokemon while all of Nathan's were still able to fight, the boy even making things worse by returning his Zebstrika so she now didn't know who to send in next. She couldn't believe it, why was she losing?

However, now was not the time to think about that as she gulped, put on a serious expression and spat, "ENJOY YOUR WINNING STREAK FOR NOW, NATHAN, BUT MARK MY WORDS, YOU WON'T DEFEAT MY LAST POKEMON! LET'S DO THIS, TIM!" sending in a round red ball with hands and feet, big eyes and a banana-shaped smile. With eyebrows shaped like seashells, this was Darumaka.

However, Nathan felt confident as he sent in the best choice for this battle, Toby, the Palpitoad grinning with pride as Cassie's jaw dropped, the girl hoping that Nathan wouldn't have a water type. Now things had truly gotten bad for her. She had to ensure that she could win.

But before she could think up a strategy, Toby opened his mouth, releasing Bubble Beam and hitting Darumaka hard. However, the daruma endured it, ignoring the damage dealt as Toby hit Tim again, this time with Muddy Water, spinning his body around and unleashing a torrent of liquid mud.

However, when Tim got struck, Cassie saw an opportunity and shouted, "OH MY GOD, THAT'S THAT UP THERE!" pointing at the sky as everyone looked up including Toby, Cassie having her Darumaka hit Toby hard with Superpower. Before Toby could even strike back, Tim backed up a bit, launching himself at the toad and hitting him with Headbutt, causing Toby to flinch as he took in another one.

Nathan stared in disbelief. Not only had Cassie relied on such a dirty tactic, but he'd fallen for it. He should have seen through that right away. It was such an obvious and cliched trick.

However, Toby was absolutely infuriated by this as he scowled, sick and tired of constantly being the punching bag for his opponents as he let out a fierce battle cry, his body becoming that of a true, full-fledged toad. He had many warts all around his body that looked more like black orbs with blue tips, his eyes now red and serious. Toby had become Seismitoad.

"Wow!" Yae exclaimed excitedly, "This is really something! Nathan has not only had one Pokemon evolve in this battle, but two! This can only get better for him from here!"

With that, Toby unleashed Hydro Pump, hitting Tim hard in the face and knocking him down, the Darumaka looking as if he was on his last breath. Seeing this, Cassie sighed, looked down and said, "Alright, you win... I can't possibly do more than this..." Toby grinning with pride as Nathan was about to return him and accept his victory, Cassie then grinning and shouting, "PSYCH!" the Darumaka immediately getting up and sending a blast of fire hard into Toby's back, the toad's eyes going wide as this was strangely enough to knock him out, everyone staring with absolute shock.

Cassie grinned wickedly, laughing and saying, "I told you that you won't defeat my last Pokemon... now suffer!" Nathan's eyes wide with absolute horror.


	35. Chapter 35

Pokemon Legacy

Nathan bit his lip and took a deep breath. He couldn't let himself be discouraged by the fact that Toby had lost to a very dirty trick. He still had Wilbur and Sammy left. Surely they could finish the job he'd started. Besides, Nathan wasn't the kind to show fear anyway.

With that in mind, he quickly pulled out a Pokeball, sending Wilbur back into the battle, the zebra taking form and letting out a fierce battle cry. However, Cassie seemed really confident that Tim could defeat this one too.

"Come on, Wilbur," Nathan said, "look at how weak your opponent is. If we strike him just one more time, I'm sure that'll be enough," Cassie scowling and thinking, 'Yeah, but I'm not going to let you get that strike in.'

With that, Wilbur charged up the bolt formations atop his head for a Spark, Tim rolling up into a ball and headed toward the zebra. When the Zebstrika unleashed the electricity, Tim simply rolled to the right, dodging it, but just as Nathan was about to tell Wilbur to do the same with the Darumaka's attack, the daruma proceeded to roll to the side, now rolling around Wilbur in a circle.

Nathan stared at this with confusion, Wilbur equally baffled as Jason bit his lip, Dana gulping and Jack gritting his teeth, muttering, "Come on, man, you can beat this..." Nathan too late to figure out the strategy as Tim sent his body hard into Wilbur's legs. With the zebra's legs being so skinny, it was only natural that this managed to take him down with ease as he fell on his face, Tim retracting his ball-like state and sending a flaming punch to the Zebstrika's face.

Cassie grinned wickedly as this ended up proving more than enough to knock Wilbur out, but of course this would be the result. After all, the zebra had taken in a lot of damage from her Rufflet earlier. But one thing was for certain, Cassie was clearly an unpredictable opponent. Now Nathan had to be really careful.

With that in mind, he slowly pulled out Sammy's Pokeball, biting his lip a bit and taking a deep breath before saying, "Come on, girl, I know you'll make me proud," the boy sending the Excadrill in as she took form, Yae holding the mic close and stating, "This has gotten really intense now! It looked like Nathan was going to win, but Cassie pulled a fast one!" Pep folding her arms, sporting an angry look, something rarely ever seen from her, and saying, "Fast one is right. She should be disqualified," Yae sighing, "Tricking people with words is not against tournament regulations, though you're right, it should be, especially since I fell for it too," folding her arms and pouting.

However, Sammy was confident she would win as she was just about to dig underground only for Tim to send a small flame into the ground there. Since this particular portion had sand on it, the sand ended up turning into glass as Sammy couldn't dig under that, her claws clinging up against it, the mole performing a hand-stand on the glass before repositioning herself upright.

"Let's see you counter that, dumbass!" Cassie exclaimed as Nathan's eye twitched, the boy fuming. This had gotten really annoying now, but before he could say anything, Cassie laughed and exclaimed, "Now the world will no longer pick on poor little Cassie! No one will make fun of her braids or her glasses or her freckles!"

Nathan's eyes went wide at the sound of this, everyone else staring with confusion as the girl grinned and added, "If those bullies could see me now, they'll regret picking on me and wonder how! I've risen to the top and trounced all the best! Now it is time I did the same to the rest!"

Everyone stared, some more surprised by the fact that she was singing this as Tim danced with her, the girl continuing, "If they could see now, they'll shit their pants and how, because I've proven that I'm much more than a pest!"

Nathan nodded, starting to understand what Cassie's deal was, the girl adding, "Back in school, everyone picked on me for my appearance. They told me that I looked just like a dork!" then spun before belting, "But now that I'm fighting here in the tournament, I will proceed to scratch their faces with a fork!" everyone staring and shrugging, clearly not going to dwell on how poorly-planned that rhyme was.

"If they could see me now," Cassie sang while finishing off her dance, "I'll show them all somehow that I am not just your average geek!" getting down on her knees and holding her hand out as her Darumaka placed the tip of his finger up against the top of her palm, twirling and ending the dance, holding out his arms and breathing heavily, the crowd soon applauding the girl, Jason whistling as Roxanne squealed, "I wish I could sing like that! That was so cool!"

Nathan and Jack, however, were not so amused by this, Nathan especially. Jack was just disappointed in Nathan for not attacking while Cassie was singing, but Nathan had other reasons, the boy pointing at the girl and saying, "So you mean to tell me that the only reason you're in this tournament is because you're spiteful toward a bunch of bullies from school?"

Cassie looked up and frowned before saying, "You wouldn't understand what that's like. I was always trying to be so friendly to everyone, but they all avoided me because of my appearance! They said my freckles were ugly, that I was too skinny, that my glasses made me look like I had four eyes, which doesn't even make sense, and that my hair looked stupid!"

Nathan took a deep breath and nodded before saying, "You're right, I wouldn't understand, but that's because my mom was too poor to afford school for me, so I had to be home-schooled," Cassie now interested as the boy added, "Also, do you really think you've truly earned respect in this battle so far?"

"Of course I have!" the girl retorted as Nathan shook his head, placing his hands in his pockets and saying, "No, you haven't. You earn respect by being nice to others and doing things that can be considered commendable. Winning the tournament would have been fine had you not been relying on dirty tactics to make it happen."

Cassie bit her lip as Nathan added, "For a few months, I shunned people and refused to make friends. As a result, no one really respected me," then smiling lightly he added, "Then I met Dana and somehow, just her presence alone was enough to get me to open up," Dana's eyes going wide, her cheeks turning pink as Nathan added, "So far, you've only done well through trickery as opposed to actual skill."

Cassie let out a sigh and said, "You're right," looking down, "I got so carried away that I lost sight of who I really was..." then added, "Tim, stand still and accept defeat," the Darumaka's eyes going wide with shock as he looked at his owner, seeing how serious she was and sighed, folding his arms and closing his eyes.

Nathan stared, about to object to this and suggest giving up and avoiding causing Tim more pain, but he could see the seriousness in Cassie's expression. She knew about this option but wanted to go down in a more honourable fashion. With that in mind, Nathan signalled Sammy to attack.

Sammy nodded before leaping toward the Darumaka holding her claws up together, placing both up against the spike coming out of her forehead. Soon, half of her body was covered by a giant spike as she spun around, using Drill Run and ramming herself hard into Tim, the daruma coughing up a bit of blood before passing out, Cassie letting out a sigh, a smile on her face as she returned her partner.

With that, Yae held onto the mic shouting, "And so, the winner of the final battle of the first round is Nathan!" the crowd going wild, clapping hard and cheering loud, Jack smiling and getting up, giving Nathan a quick thumbs up before leaving the area.

Dana ran over to Nathan and gave him a hug, Nathan smiling lightly while patting her back saying, "Yes, I did win, didn't I?" Jason raising his fist in the air shouting, "I KNEW YOU COULD DO IT, WHOO!" then proceeded to have his monkeys perform a cheer, Steve showing very little enthusiasm while doing so.

Nathan then looked over at Cassie who was still smiling, the girl bowing her head and saying, "I'm sorry for all I did here today. I'll take your advice and make a bigger name for myself."

But as the girl was about to leave, a certain boy in the audience ran through the bleachers, leaping over the edge and into the arena, running over to Cassie and shouting, "Wait!" the girl looking up and staring before asking, "Butch? What are you doing here?"

"Who's that?" Nathan asked, Dana shrugging as Cassie scowled, stating, "He used to pull my braids during class," Nathan and Dana staring in disbelief, the boy sighing, "Yeah, and I came to apologize for that."

Cassie's scowl turned to a look of disbelief as Butch rubbed the back of his head saying, "Yeah, before you left for your journey, I realized that what me and everyone else in school were doing to you was wrong. I wanted to tell you we were sorry, but you'd already gone," Cassie's eyes sparkling as she asked, "Are you telling the truth?" Butch nodding and saying, "Come on back home. Everyone misses you."

Cassie nodded, letting down a tear of happiness and joined the boy in walking out of the arena, Nathan staring in disbelief at this saying, "It's a good thing this isn't some fictional story, or even I'd call that too cliched," Dana smiling and adding, "I think it's sweet."

"Alright, for the rest of the day, you are all free to do whatever you want," Yae said, the audience getting up before the professor held up a pointing finger while adding, "Tomorrow, things are gonna be mixed up a little bit," the audience now even more intrigued.

Naturally, Nathan had his Pokemon healed first. With five hours left before curfew, the teens decided to check out Excel City and see what it had to offer, all agreeing to meet up with Jacob and his friends for dinner at seven o'clock.

Jason was looking at all the various food stores, looking for ingredients to bring home with him while Carmen and Mighty had snuck away to the back of the store so they could have a calm, quiet moment together. Dana was looking around for things to check out when she noticed an ad for an exhibition human wrestling match going on in the city's smaller battle arena. Seeing as it was at five, she knew she was in luck and decided to go right away, figuring she'd let her Pokemon watch too and maybe learn a few techniques themselves.

During this time, Nathan was at a local flower shop, looking around at all the prettiest picks as the owner walked up to him asking, "See anything you like?" Nathan noticing a bouquet of maiden lilies and pointed at them saying, "I'll take some of those, please."

All the while, Jack was at the local gym, having his Pokemon bulk up. Samurott was swimming laps in the pool, which had been recently added to gyms specifically for water type Pokemon to train. Zoroark was running on the treadmill and doing a very good job staying on. Bisharp was using the weights as practise dummies to sharpen his blades on. After all, he wasn't going to stand for that humiliating loss he'd experienced earlier.

Haxorus was lifting weights of his own while Krokorok was going to town on a punching bag. Finally, Mienfoo was proving his worth forming a pile of weights, kicking it down. Jack smiled and nodded at this, sure that his Pokemon would win him the tournament. No more would he have as difficult of a time as he'd had with Milo.

Later that day, everyone assembled for dinner, Anna holding Rachel and tickling her tummy, the baby laughing as Anna asked, "Who loves Auntie? You love Auntie," Jacob saying, "See, this is why I wanted you to babysit her."

Izy rolled her eyes and shook her head saying, "Rachel was fine in Roxanne's care. Get over it," Jacob sighing and pinching his forehead, saying, "I would if she wasn't sitting behind us for the duration of the tournament."

"Why do you hate Roxanne so much?" Dana asked, "She seems nice," Jason adding, "A little too nice if you ask me. I swear, her positivity and cluelessness outweighs that of Nurse Pep."

"You pretty much hit the nail on the head," Jacob replied before petting Lucario and adding, "Not to mention she scared my little buddy when he was just a day old," Lucario hugging Nathan as Dana gasped, "That's not good," Janette replying, "From what you've told me, I'm certain that wasn't intentional."

"She's still creepy, though," Jacob replied, Nathan chuckling a bit at this as Izy added, "Oh yeah, it might be good to mention that half of her own Pokemon still can't stand her."

"Oh, wow, that is bad," Nathan replied as soon the group laughed, Jason saying, "It's a good thing she doesn't join us for dinner, otherwise this would be awkward," Anna saying, "Well, I think she's very nice. I like her."

With that, dinner arrived as the group ate, Jacob saying, "By the way, you guys were great today," Izy folding his arms and saying, "Honestly, I expected better from Nathan, what with him being the one who stopped Zekrom," Jason adding, "Not to mention he's an ex-Team Shadow member."

"Oh yeah, I keep forgetting that," Izy replied, "Why would someone as nice as you be a member of Team Shadow?" Nathan sighing, "Should I tell them?" Dana replying, "I don't see why not."

And so Nathan told of his mother's deadly illness and how Sabrina had offered him a cure in exchange for his devoted services. When he told of how the antidote was fake and that his mom had still died, Jacob and Izy were staring with wide eyes, letting down tears. Anna and Janette bit their lips and held each other's hands, big puppy dog eyes forming.

Nathan sighed and said, "Please, can we try not to turn this into a pity party?" the four adults putting into even wider puppy dog eyes, Jason and Dana joining in as Nathan narrowed his eyelids, pinching his forehead and sighing, "Seriously, stop it..."

"But in all seriousness, that's a really sad story," Jacob said, Izy nodding and replying, "Our region's bad guys, Team Advent, executed my parents after forcing them to work for them," Jacob sighing, "My dad was killed by Giratina during his travels."

Anna blinked and added, "My mom died right after giving birth to me, then Giratina killed daddy after being summoned by him," Jason then groaning, "Okay, can we have a more pleasant dinner conversation? I'm starting to lose my appetite."

The group nodded in agreement, deciding maybe talking about parental deaths was a little too negative seeing as they were supposed to be celebrating right now. Dana and Nathan also had to think about their battles tomorrow. Dana was going up against the muscle-bound trainer while Nathan would be facing the businessman. What a guy like that was doing in a Pokemon tournament was beyond him.

After dinner, Dana and Nathan were headed back to the arena for a good night's sleep when Nathan said, "Oh, um, Dana, I got you a little something to congratulate you on your victory," pulling out a thin and long box, Dana smiling and taking it saying, "Wow, thank you, Nathan," opening it up and seeing the beautiful flowers inside.

"Maiden lilies," she said, holding them and smelling them, a big smile forming on her face as she squeaked, "Oh my god, Nathan, they're so pretty!" kissing him on the cheek, realizing what she did as both their faces turned red, Nathan blinking and saying, "Yeah, I figured you'd like them..." Dana nodding and smiling nervously while saying, "They are quite lovely."

After a few seconds, the two headed back to the arena. Dana couldn't believe she had just done that. A simple hug would have sufficed. Nathan's heart had been racing madly after that kiss, but why? Why did he feel such a thrill from it?

Either way, it was time for bed as everyone headed off to their rooms. Nathan had his Pokeballs on a table next to his bed while Dana had all of her Pokemon out of their balls and resting on pillows. She didn't know why she did it, she just really felt like doing so.

During this time, the muscle-bound trainer was looking in a mirror, his light still on as he flexed his muscles saying, "Alright, we're gonna trounce that girl tomorrow. Gotta remember I'm doing this for my family," puffing out his chest and smiling with pride.

One thing was for certain, tomorrow would certainly be interesting. Hopefully Dana and Nathan would make it to the third round.


	36. Chapter 36

Pokemon Legacy

Finally, the day of the second round of the Ultimate Pokemon Challenge had arrived. The seats were once again full as the remaining trainers felt ready for their battles. Dana was especially focused knowing she'd need that when facing her opponent.

But of course, she wasn't sitting with the other trainers in the reserved bleachers. She was in the back, waiting for her name to be announced. She still couldn't believe she had gotten this far.

One thing that interested the spectators most of all, however, was what this new gimmick Yae had spoken of was. She'd mentioned things being mixed up a bit in this battle, but no one really saw anything new. What was this update she'd mentioned?

Either way, that thought would have to end as Yae held up her microphone shouting, "Alright, everyone, welcome to the second round of the Ultimate Pokemon Challenge! For anyone who forgot, and shame on anyone who did..." the audience staring wide-eyed as the professor laughed a bit before adding, "I am your host, Professor Yae, and this is my co-host, Nurse..." turning and noticing Pep wasn't there, her eyes going wide.

Suddenly, everyone pointed toward the arena as Pep was down in the field performing a cheer of some kind and waving her pom-poms around, Yae groaning and slapping her forehead. After a bit more cheering, Pep proceeded to perform a handstand followed by a flip into her seat shouting, "WHOO! That was fun!" Yae scowling at the nurse and muttering, "I hate you so much right now..."

After a while, Yae took a deep breath and said to herself, "Right, time to introduce the trainers," then held the mic up again shouting, "On the Western side, having just defeated Russel in the first battle of this very tournament, Dana!" the crowd cheering and clapping for the girl as she entered the arena, a big smile on her face.

"Alright, show em a thing or two about real skill!" Jason shouted, Lucario holding up a sign that said 'Dana rules', Carmen and Mighty both rather envious of this simple yet superior cheer method, the monkeys folding their arms as Steve pinched his forehead, rather annoyed by this.

"And on the Eastern side, coming to us from Green City..." Rocky nudging Pamela and saying, "That's where I come from," Pam nodding and saying, "I know, dearest," Yae adding, "Introducing Trent!"

The buff man entered the arena, looking completely focused. Even the applause he received as common courtesy didn't seem to faze him. He just wanted to win really badly. However, after entering the arena, his eyes then darted across the crowd as if he was looking for a certain someone, but who?

After a few seconds, Trent noticed a young woman and some kids in the crowd, all of which had their arms in the air cheering, Trent smiling and waving while shouting, "Hi honey, hi kids!" the kids exclaiming, "HELLO, DAD!"

"Aw, you family came?" Dana asked, her eyes sparkling as she squealed, "That's so sweet!" Trent looking at the girl before sighing, "Please pay attention to the battle and not on my affairs. If I beat you, I want it to be truly earned, not the result of you not paying attention," Dana then folding her arms, pouting and grumbling, "I was just saying..."

Nathan himself wasn't so sure what to think of that. On one hand, it was good to know this Trent guy had good determination. On the other hand, Nathan saw nothing wrong with being friendly towards an opponent, be it before or after a battle. Still, Trent couldn't have been all bad if he was a family man with kids who clearly loved him as opposed to fearing him.

With that, Yae cleared her throat and said, "Alright, now you're probably all wondering what the new rules for this next set of battles is," everyone looking at her and nodding, finally about to get the answer they'd wanted to hear since they'd arrived.

Yae then pointed at the arena while saying, "Watch very closely," before pressing a button a suddenly, things like spikes, flames, fog clouds and puddles of water appeared in random places on the ground, soon vanishing when Yae pressed a button labelled 'hide'.

"As you can see, the arena is now covered in traps," Yae stated as the crowd gasped, rather amazed and scared by this, the professor adding, "The area in which the trainers are standing and anywhere in front of them is a safe zone, meaning that's the only place where you can guarantee there are no traps. Everywhere else, however, is dangerous and there's a fairly big chance a Pokemon will run into a trap or two."

"My god..." Jason said, his eyes wide open with terror, "That's just... cruel..." Jacob nodding and adding, "The only gimmicks were ever had to deal with were slight changes in the number of Pokemon we could use and that strange rule they had for the quarter-finals in which the battle arena would sometimes change to one representing some kind of element."

"That sounds a lot safer than this trap thing," Jason replied, "I mean, seriously, spikes and flames? Are they trying to amp up the challenge or kill those poor Pokemon?"

Either way, the battle was about to begin as the roulette was spun, Dana a bit worried about the traps while her opponent thought little of it. Trent wasn't going to let something like this get his spirits down. After all, he had his family there to support him.

Soon, the roulette stopped on Dana as she figured she'd use Electra seeing as the rodent could simply fly over the traps, but before she could do so, Queen had once again summoned herself to the arena as Dana sighing, "Queen, how many times do I have to tell you to only come out when I want you to?" the spider simply bowing at Dana, the girl slapping her forehead.

'So she starts with the Galvantula she used during the race,' Trent thought, 'Figures she'd try to surprise me with a Pokemon she didn't use in her previous battle to throw me off. Well, little does she know I was paying attention to the screen when it showed that creature using its attacks. I know exactly what it can do.'

After that train of thought, Trent pulled out a Pokeball and let out a battle cry, hurling the ball forward as his Sandile took form. Dana thought this was a rather odd choice but decided it didn't matter too much.

Trent then proceeded to bend down, stroking the top of the crocodile's head and said, "Alright, girl, let's make this one count," Sandile nodding with a big smile on her face, Dana about to react to the cuteness of this scene but remembered how Trent had responded earlier.

Yae signalled the beginning of the battle as Dana shouted, "QUEEN, OPEN UP WITH THUNDER WAVE!" the spider unleashing an array of thunder, Sandile standing there and taking it. To make things even stranger, the attack didn't even do anything. Sandile simply ignored it and charged toward Queen, who was spellbound along with Dana, the spider taking in a fierce Bite to the forehead, some blood trickling down before the spider pried open Sandile's mouth, forcing the reptile off.

"Nice try," Trent said, "but my Sandile is a ground type, meaning she's immune to electric attacks," Dana's eyes wide with shock as Nathan slapped his forehead, Jack sighing, "How did she ever make it this far with such a lack of knowledge? Everyone knows ground types are immune to electric types."

However, knowing this now, Dana was sure she wouldn't make such a mistake again as she had Queen use String Shot. Unfortunately, this proved ineffective as well as Sandile simply opened his mouth, clamping her jaws down on the string and snapping it open, swallowing the portion she'd bitten off.

Now Dana had to be more serious about this for sure. Clearly, this Sandile was a force to be reckoned with. However, Trent didn't seem all that happy about this, and it clearly showed. His expression was one of annoyance rather than confidence. He must have thought Dana was an idiot for making two obvious mistakes in a row.

With this in mind, Dana took a deep breath and said, "Alright, Queen, no more mistakes. Let's do this right!" the spider nodding as Dana proceeded to have her unleash Signal Beam, Sandile quickly leaping to the side to avoid it. However, seeing this, Trent was now worried, and with good reason as Sandile landed against a certain spot on the ground, flames shooting up and covering her body, the crocodile crying out in pain.

"Alright, now we got her!" Dana squealed as Queen then proceeded to unleash a loud noise by rubbing her feelers together and emitting a sound wave. This attack was called Bug Buzz, and as it his Sandile, the reptile's eyes went wide as she felt intense pain from this.

However, the crocodile refused to accept this as she dug underground, the area going silent. Queen was now desperately trying to figure out where the reptile had gone, looking back and forth as Dana gulped, not sure what to do to help her spider avoid this.

While Sandile was digging, though, she had a rather tough time getting to where Queen was, especially with her almost running into the underground spikes, flamethrowers and fog machines. However she eventually found the spot where she could swear she smelled the spider, shooting herself up out of the ground and sending Queen up into the air.

Dana's eyes went wide with absolute horror as the spider fell on her back just a bit away from the air, a bit of the ground opening up under her and revealing one of the puddles, the spider falling into it. Clearly these puddles were deeper than they looked as Queen was now struggling to get out.

Seeing this, Sandile was about to rush forward and finish the job she'd started when Trent said, "Wait, don't Sandile. You might step on another trap," the crocodile nodding in understanding, holding her ground as Dana reached for Queen's Pokeball, about ready to return her.

However, Queen, despite being a spider, managed to climb out of the puddle as she knew it was time to end this as soon as possible. With that in mind, she proceeded to unleash her String Shot again, Sandile opening up her jaws.

"What are you doing, Queen?" Dana asked with worry, "Don't you know how pointless that is by now?"

However, Queen seemed to have an idea as she rotated her head in a circular motion, causing the string to swirl toward Sandile, forming what kind of looked like a lasso as it latched itself to the crocodile's mouth, forcing it shut. Everyone stared with admiration, Dana's eyes sparkling at such a brilliant tactic as even Trent was taken aback, Queen thrusting her head back and pulling the Sandile inward, Sandile skidding across the ground as a set of spikes rose up, her body scraping against them thus causing small cuts to form.

With that, Queen had gotten the reptile close enough for her to ram her forehead into Sandile's face, taking the crocodile out for good as she lay there in agony, Trent sighing and returning her, glaring at Dana. Now he knew she couldn't be taken lightly as Dana returned Queen, hugging the Pokeball and saying, "Wow, that was awesome!"

Trent took a deep breath when he saw his family cheering for him, his wife saying, "Good try, honey. You did a good job," Trent smiling as his kids continued to cheer for him. This brought back a bit of his confidence as he proceeded to send in a large rock-like creature.

This creature had red eyes carved into his face and was made of dark blue rocks with some red ones sticking out of certain sections of his body. With four huge spider-like legs, this was Gigalith.

Dana stared at this with shock, not really sure who to use for this. However, she had to be confident as she gulped and remembered by Gigalith was a rock type. With that in mind, she sent in Pyro, the pig flexing his muscles for the cheering crowd who remembered his impressive performance in the previous battle.

Trent gulped a bit, knowing that Emboars could use fighting type moves, decided to keep his chin up. He wasn't going to let that one fact ruin his chance at victory. With that, he had his Gigalith start the battle up by using Rock Blast, the rock spider sending rocks flying toward Pyro who simply blocked the incoming projectiles by holding his arms in front of his face. Sure, his forearms took in a bit of damage, but not a whole lot.

With that, Pyro charged toward Gigalith, the rock creature focused hard as his body temporarily became metal, an aura surrounding him. This was to show he had used Iron Defense. He then proceeded to ram his front legs into the sand, kicking up quite a bit as it went into Pyro's eyes.

However, despite this, Pyro still had a clear idea of where Gigalith was as he unleashed Arm Thrust, hitting Gigalith a few times with the palms of his hands before raising his fist and sending it crashing it down on the rock monster's head, using Hammer Arm.

The crowd cheered as Gigalith stood his ground. Trent smiled when he saw his Pokemon was ignoring the pain to his head and said, "Alright, Gigalith, let's give this pig a little payback, shall we?" the rock spider nodding as he proceeded to hold his head back for a few seconds before sending it forward, slamming it hard into Pyro's face, causing the pig's snout to start bleeding a bit as he cried out in pain.

It didn't end there as the gems coming from Gigalith's body glowed, the rock spider shooting a beam shaped like a gemstone and hitting Pyro with his Power Gem technique. Pyro squealed in pain as Dana clasped her hands over her mouth, rather scared now. Pyro wasn't doing such a good job anymore, and now that he was farther away from Gigalith, he could barely see the creature with his blinded vision.

"This is just a minor setback," Dana said, gulping, "Come on, Pyro, let's hit him with with Flamethrower," Pyro unleashing a stream of fire from his nostrils only for end up aiming a little bit away from his target, Gigalith summoning a set of small stones and shooting them hard into Pyro with Stone Edge, putting various scrapes on his body now.

As the boar held onto some of his wounds, breathing heavily, Dana held out her Pokeball and said, "Maybe you should return for now," Pyro shaking his head and fuming. He knew that none of her other Pokemon would be nearly as good for this battle. But what could Dana possibly do?

"Your trainer as a point," Trent said, folding his arms, "I admire your bravery, Emboar, but you're not looking so good right now," everyone rather confused by this sudden display of good sportsmanship.

However, Pyro was certain he could finish the job as Dana said, "Well, alright, but we gotta do something about that sand in your eyes first," then thinking for a bit, her eyes sparkled as she slammed her fist into her palm squealing, "I got it!" everyone staring with confusion as Jason asked, "What's she gonna do? Have Pyro wipe the sand out of his eyes? I don't think sand from a sand attack can be rubbed off."

However, Dana's real idea was an even stranger one as she spat, "Pyro, set up for a Flare Blitz but don't actually use it!" the boar even considering this idea strange but went with it anyway, lighting his whole body on fire. After this, the strangest of things happened, everyone staring in absolute shock as the sand covering Pyro's eyes became glass, almost resembling monocles now, Pyro allowing his flames to die down.

Now he could not only see, but he could see better than ever before. A smile formed on his face as Dana gave the pig thumbs up and said, "Alright, let's finish this."

Trent was too spellbound to respond to this as Pyro rushed at Gigalith, ramming his arm hard into the rock spider's face again. But just as Gigalith was about to fall, Pyro turning toward Dana and raising his arms in the air, Nathan remembered a little fact related to Gigalith's first form, Roggenrolla, and spat, "DANA, IT'S NOT OVER YET!"

But it was too late as Gigalith recovered from the damage quickly, sending an array of rocks into the back of Pyro's head. The pig's eyes went wide as he fell forward, falling flat on his face as the ground shook a little bit under his weight. However, this hardly mattered as Dana stared with her eyes wide open, the glass she'd had Pyro create now shattered.

"Goddammit, how did she forget about its Sturdy ability?" Nathan groaned as Jack said, "Oh, so that's why the Hammer Arm didn't finish the job," Dana letting out a sigh and returning Pyro while looking down, Trent smiling and saying, "Man, you almost had me there."

Dana looked up as Trent beamed and said, "That thing where you had him use Flare Blitz to turn the sand in his eyes into glasses... that was amazing. I would have never come up with something like that," Dana's confidence returning as she grinned and said, "Well, this battle's far from over."


	37. Chapter 37

Pokemon Legacy

Dana was feeling much more confident now as not only had Trent's words been very nice, but she also realized right away that she had somewhat of an upper hand. After all, while Pyro may have gone down, Gigalith was on his last ounce of strength. All Dana needed to do was have one of her Pokemon hit him once and he would be down for the count.

With that very factor in mind, Trent had decided not to return Gigalith in the hopes that he could at least use the rock spider as a means of tiring out her next Pokemon at least a little bit before sending in his last resort. Dana smiled, figuring now would be a good enough opportunity for this to work as she immediately sent Queen back in, figuring if she only needed to deliver one hit, it wouldn't matter who she did it with.

However, Gigalith wasn't willing to let up so easily as he conjured up an array of rocks, sending them forward as the Galvantula unleashed Signal Beam. The passed passed right by the rocks, which pelted themselves into the spider while the beam hit Gigalith fast and hard.

Strangely enough, it seemed that Queen had taken in more than enough damage earlier for Gigalith's Stone Edge to take her down at the same time as him, both spreading out their legs and allowing their bodies to collapse, their eyes swirling. With that, both Trent and Dana returned their Pokemon, sighing as things got intense.

"Wow!" Yae exclaimed, "less than ten seconds into the battle and we've already managed to have our first tie during a fight!" Pep replying, "Well, technically, it was just a tie for those two Pokemon..." Yae flashing a toothy grin while muttering through clenched teeth, "That's what I meant."

Trent pulled out a Pokeball and said, "Well, Dana, this is it," Dana nodding and saying, "Yeah, I'm a little nervous," laughing a bit before Trent shook his head and replied, "Don't be. You've been a wonderful opponent so far. If I lose, I'll be glad it was to you."

"I... I don't get this guy," Jason said, Izy nodding and adding, "I know, he was so serious and cold at first and now he's acting all friendly," then turning to Anna and Roxanne, she pointed a finger at each snapping, "Don't you dare say 'I think it's sweet'! I know you're thinking it!" Anna and Janette giggling while Roxanne blinked, rather confused by this.

Trent sent in his last Pokemon, a Golurk. Dana's eyes went wide, the girl gulped and feeling rather nervous about this. Still, she needed to keep her chin up as she pulled out her Pokedex, finding out this creature was part ghost type. This meant other ghost types would be strong against it.

With that, Dana pulled out one last Pokeball and threw it forward, King emerging with a big grin on his face, his arms sprouting out of the openings in his coffin. Everyone was rather shocked by this as even Trent couldn't believe his eyes. Of all things, a Cofagrigus seemed like the last type of Pokemon Dana would ever catch, especially with what the rest of her team consisted of.

"C'mon, Dad, you can beat that ugly thing!" shouted one of Trent's kids, another shouting, "Yeah, Daddy, show that monster who's boss!" their mother sighing, "Kids, please, be polite."

King looked down with shame on his face, covering it with two of his hands as Dana gave him a hug from behind and said, "Aw, they don't mean it, King. They're just playing favourites right now. Everyone knows you're adorable," the coffin removing his hands from his face and smiling with confidence, Dana saying, "There's that cute, lovable smile," a big grin on her face.

With that, Golurk opened up by charging toward the coffin, a dark aura surrounding its face as it proceeded to glare wickedly at King, actually causing damage while doing so. This was called Astonish and if it was the first attack used, it caused the target to flinch. And unfortunately, this had worked as King grimaced in pain, the golem proceeding to hit him with a fierce Shadow Punch to the face.

Dana looked rather worried as she said, "Come on, King, I know you can do better than this," the sarcophagus blinking before a serious look formed on his face, the coffin raising his hands up and forming a giant eyeball in the air.

The piercing gaze from it caused Golurk incredible pain just from looking at it as the coffin proceeded to throw his arms sideways, forming a dark wind called Ominous Wind and strike the stone figure with it. King then cupped all four of his hands together, forming a Shadow Ball and hurled it hard into the rock figure's face.

"Alright, Golurk," Trent said, "It's time to get on the initiative! Start moving around a little to avoid damage!"

Unfortunately, this was an effective strategy as while Golurk wasn't particularly fast, King was even slower. As the coffin sent in another Shadow Ball, he ended up missing when Golurk dodged to the side. However, when he did so, a row of spikes rose up out of the ground, but it didn't seem to mean much as Golurk was made of stone and didn't seem effected by it in anyway.

Golurk proceeded to scoop up some of the dirt in the arena and hurled it into King's face, the coffin grimacing before sending Willow Wisp toward the golem. Golurk simply dodged some more, this time having a flame shoot up and cover its body. However, this also proved somewhat ineffective as the golem stepped in another spot, this time having a cloud of smoke cover its face.

"Minor setback," Trent said, "Just use Earthquake," the golem doing just that as it stomped its foot against the ground, said surface rumbling as King took in a bit more damage, this time focusing hard and firing a black beam called Night Shade from his finger tips, this time actually hitting the golem.

This caused Golurk to back up into a spot with one of the puddles, the ground opening up below it as it fell in, trying desperately to swim. Dana realized right away that she had him and shouted, "LET'S FINISH THIS WITH SHADOW BALL!" King unleashing one last sphere of dark energy into the golem's face, knocking it out.

All went silent as Trent held out his ball, returning his Golurk as his family stared in shock. However, Trent simply smiled and said, "Excellent work, Dana," holding out his hand as Dana's eyes sparkled, the girl shaking the man's hand and saying, "Likewise," the crowd going wild.

Nathan gave Dana thumbs up as she took a seat next to him saying, "I can't believe it, not only did I make it past the first round, but I made it past the second one too," Nathan nodding as Jack sighed, "Now I have to sit through another battle not involving me, joy."

However, looking around, Nathan just realized something. Where was the gardener who was to face Miranda in the second battle? Nathan hadn't seen the boy all day. Perhaps he was just somewhere else preparing for his battle.

"Well, that concludes our first battle, and man, wasn't that awesome?" Yae announced as everyone smiled and nodding, Yae turning and saying, "You know, you can be loud when I ask you a question," the crowd then cheering and going wild, soon quieting down, knowing Yae would reach for the mic if they didn't.

"On the Western Side..." Yae announced, "having just beaten Shelley with her surprising assortment of Pokemon extracted from fossils from different regions, Miranda!" Miranda entering and receiving many cheers, the girl once again refusing to let this distract her. However, she was looking through the audience for her previous opponent, Shelley, and yet strangely enough, the Goth girl was nowhere in sight. Had she gone back home? She seemed more than sportsmanlike enough to watch a battle involving the trainer who beat her.

Either way, Miranda shrugged it off, remembering her priorities as Pep was immediately handed a letter by a security guard, the nurse reading over it and taking her own mic stating, "I have just received word that Miranda's opponent, Darwin, has been called away back home due to a family crisis and will not be participating in this battle!"

The crowd was shocked, Miranda rather disappointed by the notion that she was going to win by default until Pep added, "However, Darwin has chosen a dear friend of his to replace him for this battle."

"Wait, can participants do that?" Jason asked, Izy shrugging and replying, "Apparently," as Pep exclaimed, "Now without further ado, on the Eastern Side, Darwin's replacement, Taylor!"

At that moment, woman who looked to be in her early twenties entered. She had long black hair and was wearing a white T-shirt along with a black skirt. It was an odd combination that strangely worked for her.

Miranda smiled and bowed her head saying, "Well, it's nice to meet you, Miss Taylor," Taylor smiling and saying, "Yeah, this should be fun."

Right away, Taylor seemed like a good sport, so nobody minded her replacing Darwin. But all the same, some members of the audience were really looking forward to seeing him fight, especially the other gardeners in the audience who had felt rather glad just to see one with the same occupation make it to the battle segment.

"Now for this battle," Yae explained, "There will be different types of traps hidden in more unpredictable areas, meaning even the line between the two trainers may not be a safe zone anymore."

With that, the roulette was spun as it soon landed on Taylor, the woman smiling and saying, "Well, I guess I'm going first," the woman hurling a ball into the arena as a Liepard emerged, the cat stretching and yawning before slapping the side of her face, Taylor sighing, "How many times have I told you not to take naps when you know a major battle is coming up?" the cat grinning nervously and scratching the back of her head.

Miranda smiled and figured this battle might be easier than she'd first anticipated as she proceeded to send in a Rampardos, Anna's eyes sparkling as she squealed, "She has one too!" Janette pinching Anna's cheek and saying, "Aw, you're so cute when you're amused," kissing the young woman's face, Roxanne then blinking and looking at Jacob who nodded saying, "Yeah, it's exactly what you're thinking," Roxanne's eyes going wide.

Rampardos opened up the battle by charging toward the cat, setting up a Zen Headbutt only for Liepard to become fully awake and focused, leaping to the side. However, Miranda had been counting on this as she had her dinosaur turn around and send a series of karate chops known as Chip Away at the leopard's cheek, the crowd going wild.

However, Liepard seemed more than prepared for this as she batted two of the incoming chops away then proceeded to plant her palms into the side of the dinosaur's head, using Fake-Out. If this was the first attack used by its user, it would cause the opponent to flinch, and it seemed to work quite well as as Rampardos couldn't respond, Liepard taking full advantage of this and delivering a Night Slash, opening up Rampardos's tummy, blood coming out.

Miranda stared at this with absolute horror. Liepard had barely done a thing and yet she'd already managed to deal incredible damage to Rampardos. However, the dinosaur, being a strong figure, ignored this and went in for more only for Liepard to leap over his head, performing a handstand atop his cranium and lashing out the claws on her back paws. She then proceeded to flip her lower body around, planting her claws into the dinosaur's back and scraping them against said spot, causing it to come open as Rampardos roared in agony.

"Excellent work, Liepard," Taylor said with a smile as the leopard ran over to her side, Taylor stroking her head. Miranda stared in shock as her dinosaur fell towards the ground, a trap activated as a boxing glove attached to a spring shot up, punching Rampardos square in the jaw as he fell on his side, his loss how guaranteed.

Miranda sighed and returned her dinosaur, smiling and saying, "Wow, that was really good," then pulled out another Pokeball adding, "But it's not over yet."

"You're right," Taylor replied, returning her Liepard as Miranda now had to think of the perfect ally for this, soon deciding to send in a shellfish with blue skin and tentacles coming from it. He also had a pale yellow helix shell with spikes covering the very top.

Seeing this, Taylor blinked and said, "Wow, an Omastar... where did you get a Rampardos and an Omastar?" Miranda smiling with pride and saying, "I've collected and revived plenty of fossils in my time," Taylor nodding and saying, "That's really cool."

Taylor knew just who to used against such an opponent, though, as she sent in a green eel known as Eelektrik. Miranda gulped, realizing she'd need to be careful now. Despite its look, Eelektrik was an electric type, so Omastar was certainly weak against her.

With that, Miranda started by having Omastar shoot a stream of water into the ground, knocking up dirt as it hit the eel in the face. Since this was Mud Shot, a ground type move, this dealt double its usual damage. It also provided a good enough distraction for Omastar to tuck into his shell, using Rollout as he rammed hard into Eelektrik, sending her flying a bit into the air.

But as Omastar swerved around to hit the eel again, he ended up running into another trap, this time a board attached to a spring coming up and launching the crustacean into the air. As Omastar poked his head out of his shell to see what was going on, Miranda shouted, "DON'T LEAVE YOURSELF EXPOSED!" but it was too late as Eelektrik saw the opportunity, firing a huge ball of electricity from her mouth called Zap Cannon forward, hitting Omastar hard in the face as he fell hard against the ground, down and out.

Miranda bit her lip as Taylor said, "Oh man, if it hadn't been for that trap, you would have had me for sure," Yae grinning with pride as Miranda returned Omastar, a serious look in her eyes. She knew she had to get a good winning streak now otherwise she'd lose this battle for certain.

"Man, that Taylor girl is good," Jason said, "She just came out of nowhere, too..." Anna nodding and saying, "I'm getting similar vibes from her as I got from Sampson, too," Lucario trembling at the sound of this.

"Wait, you mean ex-Team Shadow member, Sampson?" Sabrina asked as Jacob nodded and replied, "Yeah, he was my semi-finals opponent in my region's Pokemon challenge. He got across this very sportsmanlike nature, but ended up being evil," Sabrina nodding in understanding.

Taylor once again returned her Pokemon, Miranda glad to know she couldn't use her electric eel again due to the rules forbidding the same Pokemon be brought in after being returned, thinking, 'Please, win at least one fight for me,' sending in her Archen, the parrot flapping above the arena. With her Pokemon able to fly, Archen wouldn't be effected by the traps, but would this be enough to help him?

With that, Taylor sent in a floating lantern with a blue flame, small yellow dots representing eyes and chandelier handles as arms. This was known as Lampent.

Miranda was rather confused by this choice but decided to think nothing of it as she had to stay focused. As such, she had her Archen soar toward the lamp only for Lampent to easily dodge the flying creature, firing a burst of flames into the parrot's back, Archen crying out in pain.

"Come on, Archen, don't let that get to you!" Miranda spat, Archen scowling and attempting to strike the lamp again only for fail as Lampent placed herself atop Archen's head, forcing her weight upon him and sending pushing him close enough to the ground for another boxing glove to come up, punching him in the gut.

Lampent then finished things off with Overheat, taking the parrot out for good as Miranda stared in absolute horror. Archen had gone down even more easily than the others, and to make matters worse, he hadn't even landed a single blow.

Miranda sighed and returned her parrot before smiling at Taylor and saying, "Wow, you're awesome," Taylor grinning and saying, "Thanks, you're pretty awesome too," the two shaking hands as the crowd cheered and clapped, Pep squealing, "I love when friendships form after battles! It's so much nicer than bitter rivalry!"

Shortly afterwards, Miranda was about to have her Pokemon healed when Taylor approached her and tapped her on the shoulder, Miranda turning as the woman smiled and said, "Hey, Miranda, I came to make sure all was well," Miranda chuckling a bit and replying, "You're sweet, but all I'm doing is having my Pokemon healed."

"So no hard feelings for me taking your victory from you?" Taylor asked, Miranda sighing, "Did it seem like I had hard feelings back there?" Taylor saying, "Good, so you won't mind too much if I do this," lightly tapping Miranda's forehead as suddenly, an aura surrounded her as she rose into the air, unable to move her body, what looked like a dartboard forming behind her as chains appeared, strapping her to it.

"HEY, WHAT'S GOING ON HERE!" Miranda spat as Taylor grinned and replied, "You lost to me, so you're gonna be a sacrifice," Miranda blinking before tilting her head to the side asking, "What the heck are you talking about?"

"Oh, see, I'm part of a group of people dedicated to reviving Giratina," Taylor replied, "See, this world is a pretty screwed up place and deserves to be destroyed. As such, I have been harvesting souls of trainers with strong fighting spirit in order to sacrifice them and bring Giratina back to life. And he's such a nice guy, too. He gave me and the other members the ability to call upon the dark arts to aid us."

"But wait, if you just needed our souls, why did you have to beat me in a battle first?" Miranda remarked, Taylor replying, "See, the only way my powers will work on a talented trainer such as yourself is if you're in a weakened state. See, you losing the battle clearly made you lose a little bit of your spirit for the time being, so it created the perfect opportunity for me to strike."

Miranda's eyes were wide with absolute terror as Taylor then smiled sweetly, adding, "I managed to catch your rightful opponent, Darwin here. He was feeling homesick, which was definitely a sign of weakness, so I snatched his soul right then and there and forged a note making me his replacement," Miranda staring in absolute shock, letting down tears. She would have much rather his reason for being absent really had been a family emergency. At least then Darwin would still be alive.

"Oh, by the way, you might have noticed Shelley wasn't there to watch your battle with me," Taylor added, Miranda scowling and asking, "Yeah, why was that?" Taylor letting out a sigh and saying, "You have three guesses," Taylor's eyes wide with shock as she looked down, crying.

"There, there, it's gonna be over soon," Taylor said with a warm smile on her face, conjuring up a giant dart and sending it flying into Miranda's heart, the girl's eyes wide with shock as she coughed up blood, her eyes rolling to the back of her head, the dartboard and chains soon vanishing as she fell to the ground.

With that, Taylor quickly disposed of the explorer's body, her soul now placed in a small vial along with an assortment of others. Things had certainly gotten really bad now, and to make matters worse, Dana was facing Taylor next.


	38. Chapter 38

Pokemon Legacy

While the previous events had happened, Jack's battle with the police officer, a woman with long blue hair and a slender build named Jennifer, had started. Currently, the woman's Watchog was going up against Jack's Krokorok, the crocodile having just trapped the gopher in a Sand Tomb by forming a trench under Watchog's feet, sending his claws up and pelting the gopher's legs.

Jennifer frowned at the sight of this and spat, "Come on, Watchog, we spent months preparing for this sort of thing! Are you gonna let this defeat you?" the gopher gulping and putting on a look of anger, now ignoring the pain being inflicted to him as he lowered his body a bit, leaping up out of the Sand Tomb.

As Krokorok rose up out from under the ground, he noticed Watchog charging toward him, the crocodile ready to counter only for the groundhog to run to the right, biting hard into Krokorok's arm with Hyper Fang. Krokorok cried out in pain, flailing his arms around and trying to throw Watchog off of him only for the gopher to use this momentum to flip his body upwards, delivering a kick to the crocodile's skull.

As he leaped back, a look of pride on his face, he placed his hands against his hips while Jennifer grinned and gave her partner thumbs up saying, "Excellent job," Jack frowning and stating, "Hey, this battle's far from over!"

This became very clear as Krokorok's scales suddenly turned red. Everyone stared in anticipation as the crocodile also grew in size, his claws becoming sharper and the black around his eyes becoming more like sunglasses. He had just become Krookodile.

Nathan had to admit, he was even more nervous about his potential battle with Jack now. Now all but one of Jack's Pokemon were fully evolved, and Jack realized this too as he grinned and shot his fist into the air shouting, "YEAH, THAT'S WHAT I'M TALKING ABOUT!"

Watchog saw the reptile's huge size, gulping while trembling all the while. However, Jennifer had a serious look on her face as she folded her arms and glared at her Watchog. The gopher gulped and took a deep breath. As technically a member of the police force, it was not his place to give up, especially when facing a creature whose face markings resembled a bandit mask to some degree.

With that in mind, Watchog sprinted toward Krookodile, going in for another attack only for Krookodile to open up his jaws, crunching down on the gopher's upper body, causing blood to trickle down as Sabrina trembled at the sight of this. She couldn't help it. Seeing a Krookodile do such a thing reminded her too much of the very creature that ate her best friend when she was younger.

"Hey, hold on!" Yae spat, Jack and the crocodile staring up at her as the professor stated, "It's against the rules for a Pokemon to die during battle," Jack rolling his eyes and remarking, "Yeah, yeah, I know that! Did you seriously think my awesome new Krookodile was actually going to kill this Watchog?" pointing at his Krookodile who nodded before lifting his head up, slamming Watchog's lower body hard against the ground before opening his mouth, allowing the gopher to pass out.

Jason gulped at the sight of this, his eyes wide open as he said, "I'm not gonna lie, I was kinda scared for that Watchog's life back there," Sabrina nodded and glancing at the boy, replying, "You and me both," Roxanne saying, "That poor little Watchog, being beaten so badly by that scary Krookodile."

With that, Jack gave his new and improved crocodile a hand shake and saying, "You are way past cool," Jennifer letting out a sigh and saying, "Alright, this is but a minor setback," returning her Watchog before sending in a big terrier with brown fur on its head, white fur below its snout that represented a huge moustache. With blue fur covering the rest of his body, this was Stoutland.

However, Jack was unimpressed as he let out a yawn saying, "Man, I was hoping for something threatening, then pointed forward and said, "Come on, Krookodile, you can take care of this easily."

The reptile nodded before leaping toward the dog, his jaws wide open. But just as he was about to use Crunch, Stoutland quickly ran to the side, easily avoiding the attack as Krookodile ran face-first into the ground. However, while Stoutland was running, a wall rose up from under the ground as he ran face-first into it, whimpering a bit as Jennifer groaned.

"Right, I'd forgotten about the traps," then came up with a plan while saying, "Hey, Stoutland, why don't you try running through more of this area?"

Hearing this, Jack was trying to figure out what the officer was up to but saw this as a moment of weakness before shouting, "Alright, Krookodile, pursue the target!" the crocodile recovering from his crash-landing with the ground before charging at Stoutland, the dog fleeing from his life. But how was this a good thing for the terrier?

Stoutland's nose was twitching during his run as he ran sideways at a certain spot then went back to going straight as a wall rose up behind him, Krookodile unable to react in time before ramming hard into the wall, groaning in pain.

Jack stared in shock but figured something like this wouldn't happen again as he had his crocodile give chase once more, Krookodile sprinting towards the dog who leaped over another particular section, another wall coming up, this time made of metal and dealing even more pain to the reptile's face. This happened three more times until Jack caught on and commanded Krookodile to stop, the reptile doing so.

"I'm confused," Izy said, blinking, "How exactly did Stoutland pull that off?" Jacob stating, "I know the reason, but I get the feeling I won't need to say it."

"What the hell was that?" Jack asked, irritation in his eyes while pointing at Jennifer, "You must have cheated somehow! How did you know those walls would be there?" Jennifer grinning and folding her arms before explaining, "It's quite simple, actually. See, Stoutland has an incredible sense of smell, making him one of my most trusted cops. As such, he can sniff out anything within a mile-wide radius."

The crowd cheered, one member shouting, "YOU'RE SO SMART, JENNIFER!" Jack blinking and feeling rather stupid for not figuring that out himself. It only made sense that a dog-like Pokemon would have a good sense of smell and yet somehow, that thought never occurred to him.

The boy was not going to let this go, though, as he had his Krookodile dig under the ground, Stoutland once again putting his sense of smell on high alert as he not only smelled the crocodile coming, but he could also hear the sound of things breaking open underground. However, much to his surprise, Krookodile did not rise up attempting to strike the terrier.

"Excellent work, Krookodile," Jack said with a thumbs up, Jennifer asking, "Why are you praising him? He didn't even attack my Stoutland," everyone else confused as Jack folded his arms with a grin and explained, "Oh, he wasn't trying to attack your dog. I figured Stoutland would have sniffed out his position anyway. No, I sent him down there to demolish all those walls and stop them from messing both Pokemon, or rather just my Krookodile."

Jennifer's eyes went wide with shock, Stoutland whimpering with fear in his eyes as Krookodile grinned wickedly, lunging at the dog and biting his forehead. However, Stoutland wasn't going to let this go as he countered by chomping hard into Krookodile's mouth, ice forming around that spot as Krookodile forced the dog away, roaring in agony. He had just taken in Ice Fang and that was no pleasant feeling, especially since he was weak against ice type attacks.

As if that wasn't enough, the dog then proceeded to emit fire from his jaws, unleashing Fire Fang. Since Krookodile's mouth was already ice cold, the heat felt five times hotter as he forced the terrier off, roaring in agonizing pain. With that, Stoutland rammed his body hard into the crocodile, using Giga Impact to finish the reptile off for good.

All went silent as Jennifer folder her arms and said, "That's a good boy," Stoutland wagging his stubby tail and panting, a big smile on his face.

Jack simply frowned and returned the Krookodile, Dana gulping and saying, "Wow, that Jennifer's really smart," Nathan nodding and saying, "But Jack's no dummy either. With all the traps destroyed, that disadvantage that hindered Krookodile's performance is gone now."

Jack thought hard about who to use for this battle, soon coming to a decision as he grinned and hurled a Pokeball forward, sending in Mienfoo, remembering that all normal type Pokemon were weak against fighting types. With that, Jack had the weasel start things up with Fake Out, Mienfoo slapping the sides of Stoutland's face and causing him to flinch, the rodent then ramming his palm hard into the dog's face, using Force Palm.

As the dog backed up, whimpering a bit, Jennifer let out a sigh and said, "Come on, Stoutland, are you really gonna let that get to you?" the dog then putting on a serious look and shaking his head. He couldn't let his master down, after all.

With that, Mienfoo took advantage of Stoutland being distracted by striking him again only for the dog to ignore the pain, grinning a bit as he slammed his paw hard into Mienfoo, using Retaliate. This caused incredible pain as not only was it generally powerful, but its power doubled if the user took in damage prior to its use.

"Good boy, Stoutland!" Jennifer exclaimed with a grin before adding, "Now use Reversal!" the dog sending his paws forward at a rapid pace, striking the weasel multiple times. Since Stoutland had taken in quite a lot of damage, this move's power only got higher as it was meant to be more powerful the more damage the user had taken in all together.

Jack gritted his teeth as Mienfoo started to feel weak, the boy slapping his forehead. He couldn't believe what he was seeing. Mienfoo had only taken in two hits and yet he already looked like he was ready to pass out.

But just as Stoutland was about to finish him, Mienfoo's eyes glowed, the weasel not willing to lose. With that, he quickly recovered from his pain, sending a hard punch to Stoutland's face called Drain Punch, sapping a bit of Stoutland's energy and using it to patch up some of his wounds.

But it didn't end there as everyone stared in shock, the weasel's body turning white. Suddenly, Mienfoo started to grow taller and more slender, his tail also becoming longer. He also had two big whiskers coming from the side of his snout as his arms became more like long sleeves. Mienfoo had become Mienshao.

"Now my team is truly unstoppable," Jack said with a big grin, Nathan blinking, refusing to let himself be intimidated by this while Mienshao held his arms back, forming a big ball of energy and hurling it hard into Stoutland's face, the spellbound terrier soon knocked out, lying on his belly with his legs spread out, his eyes swirling.

With that, the crowd cheered for Jack as Jennifer let out a disappointed sigh, returning her Stoutland and saying, "Geez, that's twice in a row now. You must have really good luck," Jack replying, "Oh no, I'm just really badass," Jennifer rolling her eyes and deciding to ignore the boy's ego.

With that, she pulled out one last Pokeball before asking, "Say, are you, by chance, a litter bug?" Jack blinking before saying, "If you're asking if I throw garbage on the ground, no," Nathan pointing and retorting, "You liar! You did that constantly with candy wrappers and beer bottles during our missions!" Jack glaring and shaking his fist shouting, "YOU SUCK!"

"Well, I'm gonna teach you a lesson with the very thing you love to abuse so much," Jennifer replied with a grin, Jack groaning, "Please tell me you're not trying to be ironic, because you fail at wit," the officer ignoring his words as she sent in quite possibly the most hideous and disgusting Pokemon anyone in the crowd had ever seen, Roxanne wanting to vomit just from looking at it.

It was a creature, a monster made entirely out of garbage. Dirt and grime made up most of his body, but on his arms were also metal parts. Making up his head was a ripped garbage bag thrown over the trash. The only parts of this thing's body that were remotely attractive were the coloured rocks cakes into his flesh.

"My god, what is that thing?" Jack asked, his eye twitching all the while, Dana covering her eyes and screaming, "Get it away!" Jason digging around asking, "Where's my barf bag?" everyone else also freaking out, all except for Nathan.

If anything, Nathan felt really sorry for the creature, especially when he saw a tear forming in his left eye. He also looked it up discovering this creature was called Garbodor. This was certainly a good choice of Pokemon as he was strong against fighting type attacks.

"Ignore them, Garbodor," Jennifer said, the trash heap wiping his tear, the officer adding, "Once you win this battle, they're respect you for sure."

With that, the walking garbage nodded before grinning. Jennifer always knew how to cheer him up when he was feeling down. In fact, back when he was just a living garbage bag known as Trubbish, he had been Jennifer's first Pokemon. See, he used to be a big vandal until Jennifer taught him how to be more clean and not pollute the town with his garbage.

With that, the battle began with Garbodor opening up with Gunk Shot, firing a stream of garbage from his hands at Mienshao. Mienshao dodged to the side, absolute terror in his eyes as Jack gritted his teeth and spat, "Come on, show that piece of junk a thing or two with Pound!"

But just as the weasel was about to do so, he saw that he was just about to touch the walking pile of trash and hesitated, Garbodor spitting a bit of acid from his mouth and hitting Mienshao hard in the face with it. Jack grimaced and had the fighter attempt another attack only for Mienshao to once again hesitate, Garbodor retaliating with Sludge Bomb, shooting a stream of sludge from his mouth and hitting Mienshao hard in the face.

With that, the garbage bag then leaped into the air, planting his belly hard into Mienshao, crushing him with Body Slam as the weasel was unable to get up, the rancid smell coming from Garbodor proving too much thus knocking him out cold. With that, Jack gritted his teeth and returned the weasel before taking a deep breath. Now he had to really think about this.

He then noticed Samurott tapping him on the shoulder, the seal smiling as Jack grinned and nodded saying, "Alright, make me proud," the seal entering the battle area. Seeing Samurott's confidence was more than enough for Jack to trust him for this battle.

With that, Garbodor charged toward Samurott, confident that he'd have the same luck only for Samurott to unleashing slash, sending his horn hard into the creature's face, opening up the bag a bit as oil started to spill out. The seal didn't even care that he'd just gotten his horn dirty as he proceeded to open his mouth, unleashing Hydro Pump and sending the garbage flying hard into the wall.

Despite having taken in no damage prior to Samurott's entrance, this proved to be enough to knock Garbodor out for good as the crowd went wild, Jennifer letting out a sigh and returning the bag. Jack took a deep breath as Jennifer then gave the boy an army salute, a smile on her face as she said, "Excellent battle, Jack. Good luck in the semi-finals," Jack rolling his eyes and saying, "I don't need luck."

Rather than returning her Garbodor, though, Jennifer instead helped him up by the arms, not even caring that his dirty exterior was touching her as she helped walk him out of the arena, the crowd rather touched by this. Nathan smiled lightly at the woman before looking seriously at Jack. Jack was giving him the same look right now, and Nathan knew why. Jack wanted Nathan to win his quarter-finals battle at all cost, and Nathan intended on doing just that. After all, he'd been anticipating this battle almost as much as Jack had.

Roxanne noticed Jennifer leave and sighed, "Thank god... I couldn't stand to look at that disgusting monstrosity any longer," Jacob glaring at the girl, refusing to even bring up how judgemental she was being right now. He knew it would have fallen on deaf ears with Roxanne anyway.

And so for the next hour, Nathan prepared for his battle with the businessman. He had come this far and wasn't ready to lose his chance at facing Jack. He was determined to at least make it that far in the tournament.


	39. Chapter 39

Pokemon Legacy

This was it, the final battle of the quarter-finals. Nathan was to go up against the man in the business suit, and the crowd was once again full. Dana and Jack were especially focused on this, Dana really wanting her friend to win and Jack wanting his battle with Nathan.

Yae once again took a seat, all going quiet as everyone once again expected her to tap her mic, the professor smiling happily before announcing, "Alright, everyone, this is it! After all these battles, we're finally down to the last one of the day!" before pointing and shouting, "On the Western side, having just trounced Cassie and truly made a name for himself, Nathan!" the black-haired boy entering the arena, the crowd going wild.

"And on the Eastern side..." Pep stated, pointing enthusiastically, "We have Nathan's opponent, a man just trying to get through life by any means necessary, Edgar!"

The crowd didn't even know how to react when the businessman entered, breathing heavily and letting down sweat at an alarming rate, wiping some off of his forehead. Edgar was really nervous especially with all these people watching him, judging him.

"Nathan's on easy street," Jason whispered, "This guy's an emotional wreck," Jacob replying, "I learned the hard way that you can't always judge trainers off of how they look or act. He had to have made it this far for a reason."

However, this reason wasn't really clear to anyone as the man tripped over his own two feet, falling flat on his face, still clinging to his briefcase. But rather than laughing, as one would have expected, the crowd just started talking amongst themselves and pointing. There was nothing Edgar hated more than having people talk about him when he couldn't hear it. It always gave across the impression that everyone hated him.

The man took a deep breath, choosing to ignore this as he slowly pushed himself up, Nathan staring at the man with concern as he stepped forward, forcing a serious look and stating in a fake tough voice, "Don't give me your pity, little boy! You should be worrying about yourself!" before laughing and covering his mouth with his hand, whispering to himself, "That was so cool."

Nathan simply shrugged his shoulders, taking the man's advice mostly out of pity. Sure, there had to be a good reason someone this emotionally challenged could have possibly made it to the Ultimate Pokemon Challenge, let alone the battle portion, but the boy just couldn't see it. Edgar looked too honest to have stolen his badges but he looked too frightened to have actually earned them. Nathan was about to assume that maybe Edgar had bought them, but figured the gym leaders didn't take bribes and wiped the thought from his mind.

With that, the roulette was spun as it soon landed on Nathan's face, Nathan blinking before trying to decide who to send in. After a few seconds, he decided to send in Sammy, the crowd cheering for the mole as she grinned, waving at the crowd with sparkling eyes, even clasping her hands together and shaking them up and down as if she was giving herself an upward handshake.

Seeing this, Edgar simply grinned and said, "Oh, you may think that your Excadrill can beat me, but you're wrong!" everyone sensing the falseness in his tone, "And I'll see to it that your mole thing falls to the mighty mightiness of... um..."

Then digging into his briefcase, he pulled out a set of balls, dropping one particular Pokeball as an Escavalier came out, taking form. This was a strange choice, but not exactly a bad one as Escavalier had very few weaknesses and a lot of advantages, especially with his steel attributes.

"Yes, my trusty Escavalier," Edgar said with a forced triumphant laugh, "That's exactly who I was planning to go with," Nathan nodding his head, Dana and Jack trying to contain their laughter.

With that, the battle began as Sammy didn't even hesitate to charge at the knight bug, sending his claws forward. But just as she was about to land a hit, Escavalier held one up his lance arms and blocked the incoming blow, Sammy caught off guard, Edgar amazed that had worked.

The bug then sent his free arm forward and downward, sending a slash to Sammy's face, the mole crying out in pain as she was now bleeding a little bit. The Escavalier didn't stop there as he proceeded to unleash a sound wave called Bug Buzz, Sammy covering the sides of her head and taking in pain from this.

"Wow, you're doing really well!" Edgar exclaimed with a smile before clearing his throat, grinning with pride and saying in a forced tough voice, "Not that I would expect anything less from my most trusted ally, hah-hah!"

"Oh, come on!" Jason spat, "This guy's a poser, Nathan! You can beat him easily!" Anna sporting a neutral look as she said, "Actually, this Edgar guy's tougher than he looks. He's just not fully aware of it himself yet."

Jason stared as Jacob laughed nervously saying, "Anna used to be able to predict the outcomes of some battles. She can still detect a few things about trainers, though," Jason's eyes wide with shock, Izy adding, "Oh yeah, she's descended from a tribe of ancients who helped seal Giratina away years ago," Janette replying, "That I didn't know."

Escavalier went in, preparing an X-Scissor as Sammy finally got her head in the game, Nathan giving her a command as the mole held up her claws together in a shield formation, blocking the incoming strike. The knight bug was caught off guard as Sammy proceeded to strike Escavalier with Metal Claw, the bug cringing in pain. Since his mid-section wasn't protected by armour and that was the spot Sammy had struck, he had a bit of blood trickling down his body.

But just as the mole was ready to do more, the knight bug quickly recovered from the damage, jabbing his lances forward into the mole's chest, using Twineedle. This caused the Excadrill to bleed even more as she backed up, breathing heavily.

"Oh wow, this is really intense," Yae stated, "And to imagine, neither have even fallen victim to one of this arena's traps yet!" Pep asking, "Speaking of which, what are the traps this time around?"

At that moment, Sammy backed up a little too far as a big boot attached to an extender machine rose up, kicking Sammy in between her legs. If she wasn't female this would have hurt a lot more than it had, Sammy wincing in minor pain.

"Those are the traps," Yae said with a smile as Nathan asked, "You okay, buddy?" Sammy turning and giving him thumbs up with a grin on her face. However, Nathan had to be careful now. Clearly, Edgar's Pokemon were more powerful than the businessman had let on. However, it was starting to seem like less of a trick when Nathan noticed Edgar was equally impressed, if not more. It was as if the man hadn't even expected Escavalier to be this good.

However, before the knight bug could do more, Nathan quickly returned Sammy, figuring he needed someone better for the job as Escavalier stopped in his tracks, Edgar blinking before smiling and saying, "Ah-hah, now you see just how intimidating I can be!" forcing more heroic laughter as Nathan sighed, pulling out another Pokeball and sending in Celeste, the bird flying high as Edgar gulped.

Sure, Escavalier may have been a steel type, but he was also a bug type meaning he still took in regular damage from flying type moves. It wasn't long before the bug was already on the receiving end of Air Cutter, the Tranquill then using Leer before sending an Air Slash toward the knight.

Escavalier narrowly dodged the second attack, but was feeling kind of nervous now as Edgar bit his lip, saying, "Come on, boy, are you really gonna let this get to you?"

Before the bug could even respond, Celeste flew in over him, summoning up a huge Gust of wind, causing Escavalier to lose his balance, rolling across the ground a little bit. But as Celeste turned around for another, Escavalier proceeded to leap high into the air, managing to miraculously reach the bird's height, wrapping his blades around her neck.

The crowd stared in shock at this, Nathan also quite impressed as Escavalier lifted himself up so his head was facing Celeste's back. He then proceeded to use Iron Head, ramming the top of his helmet hard into the Tranquill and forcing her down into the ground before leaping off of her, holding his lances against his hips with pride.

"Excellent work!" Edgar exclaimed, clapping with a big smile on his face, Jason gritting his teeth and muttering, "Look at that! He didn't even plan for his Escavalier to do that!" Izy nodding and saying, "I guess it was his Pokemon who got him this far and not him."

This wasn't too far from the truth, either. Edgar didn't even know most of the names of his Pokemon's attacks. But they were so loyal to him, that they didn't even wait for his orders. They took matters into their own hands because they wanted the man to succeed. But how could such a loser gain such respect?

However, just as all seemed lost, Celeste slowly rose to her feet, snapping her back bone back into place before soaring toward Escavalier, Edgar shouting, "LOOK OUT!" but it was too late as the bug took in a Quick Attack to the back of his neck, the bug finally knocked out as the crowd cheered for Celeste, the bird breathing heavily as Nathan returned her with a light smile saying, "Alright, save your strength for later."

Edgar gulped nervously, pulling on his collar with a nervous smile as he proceeded to open up his briefcase again, one of his Pokeballs rolling forward as a pancake-flat fish came out. The fish had brown scales and a yellow tail that looked kind of like a crown atop a head, his fins kind of like elf ears.

Everyone stared at this, not sure what to make of it as Edgar forced another proud laughed, saying, "Oh yes, if it isn't my trusty Stunfisk. Yes, a very good ally, this Stunfisk is," laughing more as Dana shook her head, sighing, "There goes his credibility," Jack remarking, "He had credibility?"

Luckily for Nathan, though, he had something with an advantage over this as he sent in Zelda, the snake standing tall and proud with a smile on her face, Nathan saying, "Alright, Zelda, it's time to show the people just what you're made of."

"Oh my god, it's the Snivy I gave him!" Yae squealed, Pep nodding and smiling before stating, "That's pretty cool," Yae then adding, "I'm disappointing he hasn't managed to evolve her to her final form yet, though."

Edgar was now more nervous than before as he knew his Stunfisk wouldn't have an advantage over a grass type, not in the slightest. However, he still had to try as he said, "Uh... Stunfisk... use Mud Sport..."

However, rather than actually using the attack his master had told him to use, Stunfisk instead dug up a pile of dirt with his tail and hurled it hard into Zelda's face, using Mud Slap. After all, Mud Sport would be pretty much useless in this situation.

However, Zelda ignored the pain to her face as she turned one of her leaf arms into a blade, striking the fish with it and using Leaf Blade. This was really bad for Stunfisk as the fish was really weak against grass type moves and Zelda had a high resistance to almost all of his attacks.

Nevertheless, Stunfisk ignored the pain dealt to him as he knew of that one attack he could use, the fish then proceeding to bounce high into the air, everyone staring along with Edgar who didn't get it either, the fish then proceeding to drop his weight hard atop the Servine's head.

Zelda stood there still, her eyes wide open with shock as she fell forward into the ground, groaning in pain as Nathan stared in shock. Pep then pointed as Yae explained to the nurse that Bounce was a flying type move.

Stunfisk smiled with pride until Zelda managed to recover, the snake striking back with Leaf Tornado as the fish flew into the air, covered in cuts and landing hard atop his head, a boot rising up out of the ground and adding to the damage, the fish now out cold.

Edgar sighed and returned the fish saying, "You did a good job," before gulping nervously. Now he knew he had to pick something really good, something that could defeat all three of Nathan's Pokemon... but who?

He then remembered someone, someone who had been there from the beginning. This was the one ally in his arsenal he knew how to work with properly. As such, the man put on a serious expression, pulling the ball out without hesitation and sent in the Accelgor that had earned him his spot in the battle portion.

Seeing how Edgar wasn't trying to act all tough like before, the sincerity in his expression, Nathan knew he was now in for a truly serious battle as he said, "Zelda, keep your guard up," Jack sighing, "There's no point, this guy's a loser..."

At that moment, Edgar shouted, "Start things up with Quick Attack!" everyone in the crowd disappointed to see such a simple move, however, they failed to notice Edgar winking when he said that, Accelgor charging toward Zelda at an alarming speed.

Zelda sent out her Vine Whip to counter the bug only to see him stop his Quick Attack, leaping over the vines and releasing Acid Spray, raining the acid down upon Zelda, the snake crying out in pain. The bug added to the damage by spinning around and unleashing stars while descending, using an attack called Swift and hitting Zelda repeatedly in the face.

"Excellent!" Edgar spat, "Just as we practised!" Jason sighing, "There he goes again, pretending this was his plan all along," Anna shaking her head and replying, "No, I think he really meant for Accelgor to do that."

However, the Servine wasn't going to take this as she recovered from the damage, sending out her whips again, this time striking Accelgor in the face and wrapping her vines around him, pulling him in. With that, she held onto him, leaping into the air and flipping her body around, Nathan's eyes sparkling.

"I taught him that," Jason said, nudging Janette as the woman rolled her eyes and rubbed his head, but just as the attack was about to hit, Edgar spat, "GET OUT OF THAT WITH STRUGGLE BUG!" Accelgor spinning out of the hold and dealing just enough to damage to knock Zelda out, Nathan's eyes wide with shock, everyone else staring in amazement. They couldn't believe Edgar of all people had come up with that on his own.

With that, Nathan returned Zelda and realized how serious this had gotten before sending in Celeste saying, "You can finish this for sure," the bird nodding as Edgar gulped a bit, but remained serious, and he had all the reason to be nervous as Accelgor was weak against flying types.

However, just as Celeste was about to attack, Edgar grinned with confidence and said, "Alright, Accelgor, step a little over that way," pointing toward a certain spot as the bug ran over to the spot, everyone confused by this only to be more confused when a boot sprang up, sending Accelgor high into the air.

Nathan remembered that Sammy had been hit by that same boot, and by the look of Edgar's face, he hadn't forgotten either. But why would he have his own ally fall into an obvious trap?

The answer soon became clear as Accelgor landed on the Tranquill's back, Edgar smiling with pride as Jack said, "My god, he actually came up with a good idea..." Accelgor proceeding to spit acid into the back of the bird's head, Celeste taking in too much pain to focus as she fell hard and fast into the ground, Accelgor leaping off just in time to avoid taking in damage from the collision himself.

"Yes!" Edgar shouted with joy, "We're actually gonna win!"

But just as he said that, Celeste's body started to change, the bird growing taller, her lower body feathers becoming brown. Her tail also became longer and striped as she slowly rose to her talons, which were now grey and taller. Her pink feathers were now replaced by grey ones as she had become an Unfezant.

Before Accelgor could even respond to this, Celeste flew hard into him, using Sky attack thus knocking the bug out for good, all going silent as Edgar slowly held up his Pokeball, returning the bug and looking down. Nathan let out a sigh and returned Celeste as his victory was announced, everyone cheering as Jack grinned with anticipation, glad to see his battle with Nathan would finally happen.

Just as Edgar was about to pack up and leave, Nathan said, "You know, you were really impressive back there. Your Pokemon must really like you to be so loyal," Edgar saying, "Oh, that, it's nothing..." exiting the arena. The truth was, though, there was a reason his Pokemon had stuck by him despite his incompetence as a trainer.

See, back when Edgar first met Accelgor, he was a Shelmet, a small clam-like creature with a shell resembling a knight's helmet. Edgar saw that the creature was hurt and took him in as a pet. Eventually, he decided to start training Shelmet to fight, soon catching other Pokemon with him. Shelmet must have told them of Edgar's nice act of helping him in his time of dire need, because they all seemed to take an immediate shining to the businessman.

As Edgar left the area, Yae shouted, "And that concludes the quarter-finals! Join us tomorrow for even more excitement as the semi-finals begin!" everyone cheering as Jack got up and left, off to train for his battle with Nathan.


	40. Chapter 40

Pokemon Legacy

Tomorrow was a big day for Nathan and Jack. Finally, after all this time, the two were going to not only have the third battle that would decide for sure who the better trainer was, but they were also going to have it in front of a large audience and televised for the whole region to see.

Jack was hard at work already, training his Pokemon for the big event. There was no way he was going to get cocky and come unprepared. He'd been waiting too long for this.

After about an hour of having his Pokemon spar with each other, he clapped his hands together and said, "Alright, guys, take a breather," the Pokemon all nodding and sitting down, Jack smiling a bit while saying, "I'm proud of all of you, I really am. I don't normally say that, but hey, you guys earned it," Samurott smiling with pride while the others were also quite pleased to hear this.

Jack then sat down in front of his Pokemon and stated, "Now remember, all of you are to do your best tomorrow, got it?" the Pokemon all nodding in understanding, fully confident in their abilities as Jack said, "Good, because I don't think I need to remind you all how satisfying it will be when we mop the floor with Nathan's team."

Nathan was also training his team, kind of worried that Zelda hadn't evolved yet. However, he was happy to see that she was performing better than the others in her training. However, unlike Jack, who had his Pokemon spar with each other, Nathan's method of training was to have his Pokemon go to the gym and practise on the test dummies, punching bags and whatever else was offered there.

During this time, Dana and Jason were busy shopping at a big store that had pretty much everything, Jason's monkeys helping him pick out a few things to whip up for dinner as the group decided not to go out this time.

Jason noticed Dana looking at Gothic T-shirts and pants, something he never would have expected from her. As such, he walked over to her, confusion on his face as the girl noticed him and blushed a bit, Jason asking, "Okay, what's going on here?"

"Well, I was thinking of buying Nathan a new shirt..." Dana replied, Jason blinking and became even more confused when the girl added, "I'm also thinking of dying my hair black. I might look better with it."

"Okay, what the hell?" Jason retorted, Dana looking at the boy as she sighed, "Well, Nathan's been real nice to us and, well, he's the reason we're even a trio, so I figured I'd give him something to remember us by."

"Remember us by?" Jason asked, blinking before the reason for her words finally came to him, the boy groaning, "Right, after this, we're gonna have to go back home..."

"Yeah, and we all live in different areas..." Dana sighed, Jason then noticing a certain look to her eyes and said, "Okay, I can tell there's more to this than you let on. What's your other reason?"

Dana's cheeks turned bright pink as she turned to Jason, grasping onto his shoulders, leaning inward and whispering, "Alright, I'll spill, but don't you dare breath a word of this to anyone!" Jason's eyes wide with fear as he slowly nodded his head, Dana letting him go and saying, "Well... I kind of... like Nathan..."

Jason blinked, tilting his head to the side. Well, of course Dana liked Nathan. They were good friends. However, after a few seconds, the implication finally sunk in as Jason's eyes went wide, the boy staring at Dana briefly.

However, rather than freaking out, which Dana expected the boy to do, he instead put on a more casual look and said, "I know I should be surprised, but I'm not," Dana gasping, "Is it that obvious?" Jason shrugging and replying, "It's clearly not obvious enough. Nathan still hasn't caught onto this fact."

"You're not gonna tell him, are you?" Dana asked, the girl sporting puppy dog eyes as Jason rolled his eyes and sighed, "No, Dana, that's your job, not mine. But let me tell you, you'll end up missing your chance if you wait too long. You'd better get it out of the way soon."

Dana nodded, but all the same, she didn't want to tell Nathan right away. After all, there was a chance the two would have to battle each other in the finals. If Nathan knew of Dana's feelings for him, he might go easy on her and let her win when the last thing Dana wanted was an unearned victory. With that in mind, the girl took a deep breath and decided to go train herself. After all, she had a semi-finals battle too.

Speaking of which, Taylor was simply meditating and honing her senses for her upcoming battle while sitting on a stone in the local park. She didn't feel she needed to train, and considering how well she performed against Miranda, that assumption may very well have been true.

All the while, she was determined to harvest Dana's soul. She had been watching the battles leading up to her first and Dana seemed like the perfect trainer to take from. After all, not only did Dana have great fighting spirit, but she was also timid enough to be too weak to resist Taylor's powers if she were to lose.

While the girl meditated, she opened an eye when she noticed Dana passing through, the girl looking for a secluded area to train in. Dana then noticed Taylor and smiled, waving to her as Taylor walked over, Dana holding out her hand and saying, "Hey, you're my opponent in the semi-finals, right? I'm Dana."

Taylor smiled and shook Dana's hand before saying, "It's very nice to meet you, Dana. I'm really looking forward to our battle. You have a pretty good team there."

Dana smiled brightly and said, "Thanks, you're not so bad yourself," Taylor chuckling a bit before saying, "Well, I'll see you tomorrow. I'm busy preparing right now," Dana nodding and saying, "I'm off to prepare too. Yeah, may the best girl win."

As Dana sprinted off to find a spot, Taylor grinned wickedly, watching her leave. Yeah, the best girl would certainly win, and Taylor knew that was her for sure. There was no way she would give up such a strong soul.

Meanwhile, Jack had finally finished up extra training with his Pokemon as he said, "Alright, guys, I'm expecting great things. Now, are you gonna give Nathan Hell tomorrow?" the Pokemon cheering as Jack grinned, adding, "Tomorrow's a big day, the kind where I can say that I am better than he could ever hope to be."

The Pokemon all listened with intent, Jack continuing, "It's the rematch that will define this contest! It's the time where we all prove that we're the best!" then petting his Samurott atop the head, added, "I have to say I've taken quite the shining to you all during this time, allow me to express my spirit in rhyme!"

With that, the Pokemon stood up tall and proud, giving an army salute as Jack added, "Nathan, you'd better prepare yourself for the ultimate battle. Your knees better not shake, take off or even rattle? We've been waiting for this time to come, don't you dare chicken out! I'm gonna show you what it's all about!"

Meanwhile, Nathan had finished training with his Pokemon as well, all six looking serious as Nathan smiled lightly and sang, "You've all progressed very quickly, and you have made me proud. I have full confidence that you will push that Jack around. Just try the very best you can, even if you don't win. All that really matters is you had the spirit right within."

Nathan's partners all nodded in understanding as Nathan proceeded to sing, "If you fall, don't let it get to you. After all, we made it all this way. It's not as if I came in expecting a gold trophy, long as you do your best, it's all well and good to me."

With that, he petted his Pokemon, giving Sammy a hug before handing her a worm, the mole slurping it down happily. Nathan then returned his Pokemon and took a deep breath. Now was the time for them to rest up for the battle ahead.

During this time, Taylor was still meditating as she sang, "Dana, you had better watch yourself or you will see that your soul will belong to me," a bystander walking by and staring at the girl, wondering what she was going on about while the girl continued, "You seem so nice and sensitive, that's absolutely fine. It only ensures that your life will soon be mine."

"It's time to be focused on the task at hand," Dana sang while training her own Pokemon and watching them spar with each other, "Tomorrow, I will do my best and take a stand."

She then let out a sigh and added, "I'll need to keep my feelings for Nathan at bay if I want to truly remember this upcoming day."

With that, all four started to ironically sing on cue despite not being in the area at the time, "Tomorrow is when everything finally becomes hard as we face the ones who earned their place. I must remain focused and do the best I can and make the battle arena my base!"

And with that, it was finally dinner time as Jason had prepared his friends a meal, the group deciding not to eat with Jacob and the others today. This way, they could discuss battle strategies without any distractions. Currently, they were eating in the arena lobby, figuring this was an appropriate location, though they had to be conspicuous knowing their opponents were nearby.

The Pokemon were eating off a picnic spread on the floor as Jason asked, "So, you guys ready?" Nathan nodding and replying, "I'm certain I am," Dana adding, "Yeah, maybe we'll face each other in the finals," Nathan smiling lightly and saying, "I wouldn't mind that."

Dana looked with confusion as Nathan added, "It'll be nice seeing how far you've come. After all, we've never faced each other before," Dana nodding in understanding, and Nathan was certainly right about one thing. For the weeks they'd known each other, they hadn't battled one-another once. It really would have been something for them to face off in the finals.

Granted, they hadn't battle Jason yet either, but that would soon be solved in a few seconds as the boy said, "Say, I was thinking, and you know, Nathan, your Servine will need to be extra-prepared for the battle, especially with her being only in her second form."

Nathan nodded and said, "Well, she did train hard," Jason sighing and replying, "I meant have her battle one of my Pokemon," the monkeys looking up as Carmen was about to volunteer, however, Jason surprised everyone by suggesting Zelda face Steve, the fire monkey looking up with confusion in his eyes.

"Why Steve?" Nathan asked as Jason replied, "Well, think about it, if Zelda can beat a powerful fire type like Steve, she should be able to take anyone," Nathan thinking hard about this and saying, "That actually makes perfect sense. Good thinking, Jason," the boy folding his arms with a proud grin before stating, "Naturally."

As strange as it was, though, Steve actually felt flattered by this. Of all of Jason's allies, he really didn't expect to be chosen, especially since he'd been in only one battle so far since he'd joined Jason's team.

With that, dinner was soon finished as the group stepped outside, knowing they only had a couple of hours to be allowed outside. Steve, Jason's Simisear, stepped forward and held up a fighter stance, a serious look in his eyes as Zelda, Nathan's Servine was a bit scared of fighting one of her friends.

"Come on, Zelda," Nathan said, patting her on the head, "This is merely for training purposes," the snake gulping and nodding, trying her best to keep her cool.

With that, Dana signalled the start of the battle as Steve opened up with Incinerate, Zelda narrowly dodging in time, her eyes wide with shock. Unfortunately, the snake was still afraid to fight back, and it really showed when she couldn't bring herself to dodge the second Incinerate, the snake crying out in pain as she flew back a bit.

"Come on, Zelda," Nathan said, "I know you'd rather not battle your friends, but you need to be ready for your battle tomorrow."

Zelda nodded and proceeded to lash out her vine whips, wrapping them around Steve's arms. Unfortunately, that was as far as she was as she was afraid to do anything else. Steve immediately saw an advantage as he grinned wickedly, leaping backwards and planting his hands against the ground for a hand-stand, pulling Zelda forward along with the vine. With that, the Servine flew right over his head, landing hard against the ground as she groaned in pain.

It was at this moment when she realized just how serious this training really was. Steve clearly wasn't willing to go easy on her for personal reasons, and if anything, it would be insulting for the snake to treat the monkey any differently. With that in mind, she put on a serious look of her own, climbing to her feet.

"Now we're talking!" Jason exclaimed with a grin as Nathan breathed a sigh of relief, saying, "Good, you haven't lost your fighting spirit."

With that, Zelda started by using Mega Drain, some of Steve's energy going into her and patching up a few of her wounds. Of course, with this being a grass type move, it didn't have that big of an effect, and Zelda was well-aware of this as she slammed her body hard into Steve's, the monkey too distracted to react.

With that, Zelda whipped out her Leaf Blade, putting a big cut on Steve's belly as he groaned in pain, going down on one knee as Jason rose his hand saying, "Alright, we submit. You're clearly too good for us," Nathan smiling lightly as Steve looked at Jason with shame, figuring he hadn't done that good of a job as Jason sighed, petting the monkey on the head.

Despite Steve being embarrassed by Jason sometimes, he didn't mind having the boy for an owner. Jason was a good person, after all, and though the fire monkey didn't show it, he did care about Jason's approval.

"Well, we defeated a fire type with ease," Nathan said as Zelda nodded, her eyes sparkling, Dana giggling and replying, "You're gonna wipe the floor with Jack tomorrow."

And so it was time for the trainers to rest, Nathan placing his Pokeballs next to him save for Sammy's. For whatever reason, the mole wanted to sleep outside of the ball tonight. Nathan thought nothing of it and figured it was her choice to make as the two fell into a deep sleep.

Jack had finished going over battle tactics before saying, "Alright, goodnight, guys, we got a big day ahead of us," the Pokemon nodding before yawning and heading off to sleep, Jack not even bothering to return them. As he looked at his Pokemon sleeping, the boy smiled, and not one of his usual satisfied grins, but a warm smile, probably the rarest of all looks to come from him. He really did care about his Pokemon and saw them as a family.

Queen helped tuck Dana into bed, the girl deciding not to question this anymore as she stroked the spider's head saying, "Goodnight, girl," Queen blinking as Dana sighed, "I order you to go to sleep," the spider giving an army solute before spinning herself a bed, Dana groaning, "The staff members are not going to like a big web in their guestroom."

With that, Taylor tucked her Pokeballs into bed, the girl sleeping on the floor in a meditative state while sleep-singing, "Sleep now my babies, you all need your rest. Tomorrow you'll all do your best. Slumber, my allies, seal your eyes so that we can spell her demise."

And so, everyone slept soundly, knowing the semi-finals were approaching. Despite only being semi-finals, the very trainers facing off made this much more important to them then the finals battle ever would. Nathan would finally have his third battle with Jack and Dana would go up against a rather powerful newcomer with a sinister secret. Either way, tomorrow was certainly one to look forward to.


	41. Chapter 41

Pokemon Legacy

Finally, it was the day of the semi-finals and the seats were filled with people anticipating this very event. The only people who weren't still here were Shelley, Miranda and Darwin, and had anyone known the reason behind this, Taylor would have been disqualified from her battle with Dana for sure.

Yae stood before the mic, Pep coming in waving her Pom-poms while cheering, "After all this time and wait, it's time for trainers to meet their fate. Who will enter the finals, who? I don't know the answer, do you?"

The audience face palmed at this, even the young men who found Pep attractive. That was by far one of the worst cheers anyone had ever heard. Even Yae was making a gagging gesture as Pep held her hands against her hips, sitting down with a frown on her face, a look not usually seen from her.

Yae then cleared her throat and exclaimed, "On the Western side, she has managed to defeat both Russel and Trent! Showing that nice people don't always finish last, we have Dana!" the crowd going wild when Dana entered, the girl looking confident before turning towards her friends and waving with a smile on her face.

The professor then proceeded to stated, "On the Eastern side, a newcomer who certainly proved herself more than worthy of her place here in her battle with Miranda, Taylor!" the crowd going ecstatic over the Goth's presence as she walked toward the arena, smiling sweetly at Dana and saying, "Good luck. You'll need it against me," Dana grinning and saying, "Maybe it's the other way around."

Of course, despite the harshness of these words, the two weren't actually insulting each other. After all, they had hit it off rather well the previous day... or so Dana thought at least. She didn't know what Taylor's true intentions were, but if she lost this battle, she certainly would.

Before the battle could begin, though, Yae stated, "Now, for this battle, each trainer will use a total of five Pokemon as opposed to three," everyone now really interested as the professor added, "It will also be a best three out of five battle, meaning once a battle finishes, both Pokemon must be returned and never used again. That also means there are to be no substitutions."

Everyone talked amongst themselves, rather surprised by this. Jack folded his arms, not particularly liking this himself. He felt it would make his battle with Nathan less interesting.

With that, Yae brought up the roulette, Dana gulping. This meant if she made a mistake with her choice, she couldn't take it back. In that case, she'd just have to try her absolute hardest, and she definitely needed to when fighting Taylor.

The roulette soon landed to Dana's face as the girl bit her lip. With her choosing first, Taylor could easily pick something to counter her. With that in mind, the girl thought extra hard about who to send in before pulling out a Pokeball and hurling it into the area, sending in King, the Cofagrigus grinning and waving his hands at the crowd.

"Interesting first choice," Taylor said with a smile before hurling her own ball forward and sending in her Liepard, Dana's eyes wide open in horror. She should have expected this. After all, she knew in advance that Taylor had a Liepard. Now the girl felt stupid.

However, Nathan simply got up and shouted, "Come on, Dana, don't let this get to you!" the girl nodding, still nervous as Liepard rushed at him, preparing a Night Slash. However, just as the attack was about to land, Dana had the coffin whip out Astonish, King slapping the sides of the cat's head.

This caused her to flinch as the coffin sent Will-O-Wisp into her face, causing the cat to burn as she backed off, hissing. King then unleashed Ominous Wind, dealing even more damage as Taylor blinked, rather impressed by this start.

Nevertheless, her Liepard ignored the pain as Taylor gave her a command, the cat charging toward the Cofagrigus. King attempted to strike her with Shadow Ball only to end up missing as Liepard leaped over it, spinning her body toward King and striking him hard in the head. This caused Liepard to take in a bit of damage from her burn, but she ignored it and sent a Sucker Punch to the coffin's face, King coughing up a bit of blood as he rubbed his mouth, his body twitching a bit.

"Oh, come on!" Jason spat, "It started out so well, too!" Jacob sighing, "This is terrible. Not only is that Cofagrigus weak against Liepard, but Liepard's also much faster."

Roxanne bit her fingernails before saying, "That Liepard is so much cuter, but Dana's my friend, so I hope that ugly, disgusting coffin wins," Jason staring at the girl with a cross look, Jacob nodding and saying, "This is another part of the reason I can't stand her."

However, Dana noticed Liepard already starting to feel weak as she breathed heavily. Clearly, the damage dealt by King had not been a lost cause and the leopard's burn only added to the pain. Dana took a deep breath before her confidence returned.

"King, use Hex!" King forming a giant eyeball as Liepard stared at it, pain coursing through her veins. This was prefect timing, too. Since the cat was under a status ailment, Hex's power was doubled. Of course, this only meant it dealt regular damage due to Liepard's type advantage, but it was still effective enough for King to finish her off with Night shade, the cat falling over on her side and twitching.

With that, Yae rose her arm in the air and shouted, "And the first point goes to Dana!" the crowd going wild, Dana breathing a sigh of relief and smiling, Taylor returning her Liepard, rather surprised and worried by this. This was the first time anyone had ever beaten one of her Pokemon.

With that, she narrowed her eyelids briefly, realizing that Dana was not to be taken lightly. All the while, she thought, 'Enjoy this while it lasts, but don't forget, you still need to defeat two more of my Pokemon, and I seriously doubt that's gonna happen.'

However, as focus returned to the battle itself, Taylor's sweet smile returned as she said, "Well, I must say, I'm very impressed. You're quite the trainer," Dana blushing a bit and saying, "Well, honestly, I'm a little surprised that worked myself."

'I'm a little surprised that worked myself,' Taylor thought in a mocking tone, 'What is with this girl? She's too friendly for her own good.'

Dana returned King as the roulette spun again, everyone rather surprised to see this happen before remembering the best three out of five rule. At that point, it only seemed natural to have the roulette for every battle.

Unfortunately, it landed on Dana again as the girl had to think hard. She then remembered that Taylor had an Eelektrik and a Lampent. As such, Dana needed something that neither of those two would be strong against. With that in mind, she immediately sent in Pyro, figuring he was the best choice for this. After all, she still had no intention of using Victini until it was really necessary.

Taylor felt more than confident as she sent in probably the most surprising of choices: an Excadrill, the mole letting out a fierce battle cry as Nathan stared in shock, gulping, "She also has an Excadrill."

"Geez, you act like this is the first time you've seen a trainer with the same Pokemon as someone else," Jack said with a shrug, Nathan sighing, "Okay, you got a point there," Jack grinning with pride.

However, this was both a good and bad choice of Pokemon for Taylor. On one hand, Pyro was weak against ground type attacks. On the other hand, Excadrill was weak against both fire and fighting type moves, which Emboars excelled in. Either way, Dana was confident in Pyro, what with the fire boar being her first Pokemon and all.

The battle began with Pyro sending a flame toward Excadrill, the mole holding her claws in front of her face and blocking it. However, what happened next was really shocking as the mole managed to send bits of the flame back at Pyro, hitting him in the eyes and causing them to burn as he held onto them in pain. Nathan was shocked by this. He didn't think such a thing was possible, nor did anyone else in the audience for that matter.

Excadrill then proceeded to turn transform into a giant drill, launching herself toward the pig only for Pyro to ignore this, stepping to the side just in time to dodge, grabbing the drill. Sure, the spinning caused his arms to bleed a bit, but eventually the spinning stopped as the Emboar lifted the mole up, Excadrill returning to normal just in time for the swine to ram her head hard into the ground, the mole falling on her back and rolling around in pain, rubbing her skull.

The crowd went wild as Pyro rose his arms into the air, Dana's eyes sparkling as she squealed, "You used a Piledriver! I'm so proud!" Taylor's eyes and mouth twitching all the while. However, Excadrill managed to shake off the pain as she sent her claws toward Pyro, the boar blocking them and locking hands with the mole, now turning it into a contest of strength.

"I can't believe what I'm seeing..." Yae said, Pep nodding and adding, "Yeah, they're fighting like human wrestlers. This is really something."

Unfortunately, Excadrill wasn't willing to wait and see just who had the stronger arms as she released her hold, Pyro's palmed slamming into her shoulders. Everyone thought this an incredibly stupid strategy until Excadrill ignored the pain in her shoulder, locking her arms around Pyro's forearms.

The pig's eyes went wide as he tried to struggle free only for Excadrill to spin the spike coming out of her head around like a drill, pulling the pig inward and ramming it hard into his chest, the Emboar crying out in agony, all going silent except for the still-spinning horn, Pyro's blood flying all over the place like a spiral sprinkler pointed forward, staining Excadrill's cheeks as the mole grinned maniacally.

Pyro had just taken in Horn Drill, an attack that instantly knocked out whoever it hit regardless of how much vitality they had left. Soon enough, the mole removed her spike, the spike itself stained in blood as well, Pyro falling hard against the ground, his eyes at the back of his skull, the crowd gasping in horror at the sight of this. Dana ran over, tears in her eyes and held onto Pyro asking, "Are you alright?"

Seeing this, Pep gasped and leaped out of her seat, somersaulting into the arena and sprinted over to the Emboar, examining him closely as Taylor glared at Excadrill saying, "He'd better be alive if you don't want me to be disqualified," the mole grinning nervously, rubbing the back of her head.

After a few seconds, Pep let out a sigh of relief and said, "He's still alive, folks!" the crowd cheering as Dana sighed with relief and returned Pyro, wiping her tears. After all, she couldn't be crying when there was still a battle to be won.

'Even if I was disqualified, I still could have taken her soul had that attack killed her Emboar,' Taylor thought, but shrugged figuring she'd rather not. After all, Nathan and Jack's souls were also quite inviting, and either one would be fine for her. Besides, the Goth had also gotten her first point in the entire battle. That was nothing to scoff at.

The roulette started up again, this time landing Taylor's picture as the woman thought hard about this one. After all, she really had to go all-out now. Thinking hard about her next choice, the woman sent in a Swanna, Dana knowing exactly who to use for this as she grinned, summoning Electra.

'Dammit,' Taylor thought, gritting her teeth, 'I should have expected that. No matter, she'll lose either way.'

With that, Swanna took to the skies while Electra simply floated toward the swan, immediately hitting her with Discharge, sending her body hard into the swan. To make things even better, sparks started to come from Swanna's body, indicating that the bird had been paralyzed.

"Now that's what I'm talking about!" Dana squealed as Electra flew at the swan again, Swanna dodging this time. But before she could use an attack, her paralysis got the better of her as she found herself unable to move in time to avoid an Electro Ball to her pelvis.

Taylor started to feel very annoyed by this as she spat, "COME ON, SWANNA, FORGET THE PARALYSIS!"

However, that was easier said than done. Unless status ailments such as sleep and confusion, paralysis couldn't be shaken off. As such, Swanna would have to hope it didn't leave her with too much of a disadvantage throughout the battle, and after taking in two electric attacks, she'd need all the luck she could get.

Desperate for a move that could knock the Emolga down quickly, Swanna unleashed Hurricane, wrapping Electra in a harsh wind that sent her flying into the air. To make things even better, this not only dealt a lot of damage, but it also managed to confuse Electra, the flying rodent striking her own tail into her cheek like a fist before slapping herself on the other cheek.

Seeing this, Dana could only hope for the best as Swanna flew in for an attack called Aerial Ace only for her paralysis to once again take over, preventing her from finishing the move. Luckily, Electra managed to fight her confusion long enough to hit Swanna with Thundershock, sending a big bolt of lightning from her cheeks into the bird.

Much to everyone's amazement, Swanna was still going even after all that. Unfortunately for the swan, however, Electra had snapped out of her confusion as she flew toward the bird. Swanna, once again desperate, unleashed an Air Slash, Electra narrowly dodging to the right as Swanna once again fell victim to her paralysis, unable to try again.

With that, Electra managed to deliver one last Discharge as Swanna cried out in pain, Taylor staring in absolute horror. Nathan smiled lightly, seeing as Dana had certainly made an excellent choice of Pokemon. Even Jack had to admit this was pretty impressive as Swanna fell to the ground, unable to move as she lay on her back, her leg moving up and down as her head twitched.

Taylor let out a sigh, putting her friendly expression back on and saying, "Well, you did a very good job," trying her hardest not to sound irritated by this as she returned her swan, Dana stroking Electra's head and saying, "You were wonderful out there."

'So she not only defeated one but TWO of my Pokemon!' Taylor thought, 'This girl's more trouble than I thought. Well, there's no way in Hell she'll beat my next two.'

The roulette spun as usual, once again landing on Taylor as she put on a neutral look, not wanting to look as annoyed as she was feeling. She really wished it had landed on Dana again. At least that way, she'd be more prepared.

Either way, the woman decided to send in Lampent, figuring there was no way Dana's remaining Pokemon would be able to stand up to her. Dana bit her lip, having to think hard about this. Should she go with Edmund or Queen? Well, Queen was really weak against fire type moves, which Lampent had plenty of, but Edmond took in regular damage to those types of attacks. As such, the girl grinned and sent in the Crustle, Taylor biting her lip. After all, Lampent was weak against rock type moves.

However, she figured this didn't matter too much as she had to get her upper hand back. With that, the girl pointed forward as Lampent shot a stream of Smog towards the bug, covering his face a bit. Edmond didn't take in too much pain from this, but this did provide a good enough distraction for the lamp to hit him hard in the face with Flame Burst. To make matters worse for the Crustle, the gas from the Smog caused an explosion when the flames hit, Edmond already looking weak as he was covered in burns, a look of fury on his face.

Dana clasped her hand over her mouth, Jack saying, "Wow... that was brilliant!" Jason biting his lip and saying, "Oh god, that had to have been brutal."

However, Edmond ignored the damage as he proceeded to conjured up a rock, sending it forward toward the Lampent. The lamp simply dodged it only to take another one to the face, a small crack forming on her glass as she fumed, her candle light turning red briefly as she sent a ring of fire toward the Crustle, lowering herself in front of him as the ring surrounded him, Taylor smirking.

This was an attack known as Fire Spin and what it did was surround the opponent. Dana and Nathan knew right away what Lampent was doing. She wanted Edmond to come after her and burn himself. However, Dana immediately came up with a way around this as she grinned, saying, "Edmond, tuck yourself into your shell and charge," the scorpion lowering the rock over him as he advanced forward through the ring of fire.

Taylor and Lampent's eyes went wide with shock as the shell completely protected the bug from the fire. With that, Edmond ran over to the Lamp, poked his head up out of the shell and clasped his pincers around her.

However, the lamp wouldn't let this take her down as she fumed, unleashing Overheat as the flames consumed the scorpion, Edmond finally passing out as Taylor sighed with relief. With that, Dana bit her lip nervously, returning Edmond. Now both trainers were tied. Could Dana possibly make up for this?


	42. Chapter 42

Pokemon Legacy

This was it. Now Dana and Taylor were tied. Whoever won this next fight would win the battle for good. Dana had only one rational choice left, and that was Queen, but that choice would have to wait as the roulette started to spin.

Luckily, it landed on Taylor as the woman sighed, this time not quite as disappointed as the other two times the roulette had landed on her. At least now she was fully confident in herself, assuming Dana would send her spider into the battle. As such, she sent in the one Pokemon no one had seen from her yet.

Everyone stared with shock as a Druddigon emerged from her Pokeball, the dragon letting out a deafening roar as Nathan gulped, asking, "Where did she get one of those?" Jack staring and saying, "Wow, your friend's in trouble."

Dana also realized this. Druddigon was an incredibly powerful creature. Queen wouldn't stand much of a chance, especially with the dragon's advantage over electric attacks. However, while Victini wouldn't have had much more of an upper hand, he was generally more powerful than the Galvantula. With that in mind, the girl let out a sigh, pulling out a Pokeball.

"I was saving this particular Pokemon for when I truly needed him," the girl said, everyone now looking with interest as Dana added, "Now it seems I do," and so the girl hurled the ball into the arena, Victini taking form as everyone stared in absolute shock at this, Yae and Pep's eyes going wide, the professor saying, "No way..."

Roxanne's eyes sparkled as she said, "Aw, it's so cute," Anna nodding and replying, "He's also legendary," Roxanne now interested as she asked, "So he's one of a kind?" Anna nodding as Jacob said, "I'm surprised you even know the simplest of details related to legendary Pokemon."

Despite Druddigon having a strong defense against fire type moves, Taylor was still alarmed by this. How did someone as sweet and innocent as Dana get a hold of a legendary Pokemon? It boggled the mind. But despite this, Taylor wasn't going to let up as she had her Druddigon use Dragon Rage.

Just as the attack was about to hit, Victini easily leaped over it, opening up with Confusion, an aura surrounding the dragon's body as he cried out in pain. The legend then proceeded to unleash a huge burst of flames from his body known as Searing Shot, hitting Druddigon hard and burning the dragon.

Druddigon fumed and flew toward the tiny legend, sending his claws at him only to miss, taking in damage from his burn as Victini sent a Zen Headbutt into the dragon's back. With Druddigon distracted once again, Victini added to the damage with Overheat, the fire covering his body and adding to the damage as the dragon coughing up blood.

The crowd went wild as Dana's eyes sparkled, the girl not expecting Victini to perform this well despite his reputation. However, Druddigon had now lost her patience as she whipped her tail up, whacking Victini hard in the back with Dragon Tail, then wrapped her tail around the creature and slammed him into the ground, ramming her foot down upon him.

All went silent as Taylor smiled and said, "Well, you did a very good job, but, well, it seems I've won," Dana letting out a sigh as Yae was just about to announce Taylor's victory only for everyone to stare in shock while Victini squeezed his way out from under Druddigon's foot.

With that, the legend jumped on top of the dragon's foot, causing it intense pain as Druddigon cried out in pain, Victini proceeding to cover his body in fire, hitting the dragon hard in the chin with Flare Blitz. With that, Druddigon's had finally taken in too much pain as he fell hard on his back, his eyes swirling.

"And with that, Dana wins the battle and advances to the finals!" Yae shouted as everyone cheered wildly, Dana letting down tears of joy before running toward Victini and hugging him, a big smile on her face. Taylor simply stood there, shock and horror in her eyes. No, she couldn't lose, not when Giratina was counting on her. She only needed two more powerful souls, and Dana's certainly fit the bill for the perfect first choice.

However, before Dana could cheer the Goth up, Taylor's eyes suddenly turned snow white as everyone stared at this, a maniacal smile appearing on the girl's face as Jason blinked, asking, "What's going on?" the others shrugging, equally confused by this, Nathan a bit worried now.

"No, wait..." Taylor said, breathing heavily and clutching onto her head, Dana asking, "Who are you talking to?" Taylor shouting, "Please, lord Giratina, give me another chance!"

Everyone stared in horror upon hearing these words, Taylor adding, "What! You want MY soul as compensation? You say it's powerful enough to make up for the two I can't get at this point? But... but I don't want to die... I was supposed to rule alongside you!"

"What the hell is she going on about?" Jack asked, tilting his head to the side before adding, "This girl's a psycho," Nathan shaking her head and saying, "No, I think she's actually being serious right now."

Suddenly, the girl held out a vial and spat, "If I can't rule with you, I can't allow you to rule!" hurling the vial into the ground as it shattered open shouting, "THERE, NOW ALL THE SOULS I COLLECTED FOR YOU ARE GONE!" the girl's spirit soon floating up out of her mouth as she collapsed, no longer moving.

Everyone was shocked to see this, Pep running toward the girl and checking for a pulse, shaking her head and saying, "She's dead," everyone gasping in absolute horror, Nathan saying, "So, wait, she was collecting souls of trainers for Giratina?"

Jacob bit his lip saying, "Well, if what we've heard is correct, at least her plan failed," Izy saying, "Still, poor girl. I guess that's what one gets for making a deal with an evil spirit."

Dana trembled and said, "Wait... so she was going to steal my soul if I lost?" Nathan approaching her and patting her on the shoulder saying, "Well, that just makes it all the better that you won, right?" Dana nodding, taking a deep breath and saying, "You're right, Nathan. I should just enjoy this victory," still trembling a bit.

Fortunately, with the vial broken, Giratina couldn't return. But on the other hand, this also meant none of the souls could be returned to their original owners as they had vanished upon touching the ground. This meant Shelley, Darwin and Miranda were never coming back.

Either way, Dana had won as the group had lunch together before Nathan's battle could start up, Jacob raising a glass and saying, "A toast to Dana and her semi-finals victory!" everyone clinging their glasses together, Dana blushing a bit and saying, "Come on, guys, this is a bit much. It's not like I won the tournament or anything."

"Still, you not only advanced to the finals," Jason replied, "but you also stopped a horrible plan from playing out. That's no small feat."

The others nodded as Dana giggled a bit before picking up Victini and hugging the legend, stating, "I couldn't have done it without Victini, though," Nathan nodding and saying, "Yeah, Victini was really impressive back there," the legend smiling with pride and nodding.

While the group ate their lunch, Dana then looked at Nathan with a look of confidence and said, "Good luck in your battle with Jack, Nathan," Jason nodding and saying, "Oh yeah, you guys have been waiting for this."

Nathan nodded and let out a sigh saying, "Well, he's been looking much more forward to it than I have. I only want to battle him because it will finally get him to stop pestering me," Jason and Dana looking at one-another, their eyelids narrowed, the two knowing he had other reasons.

Nevertheless, this was sure to be an exciting battle as both were very skilled trainers, as had been demonstrated up to this point. Jack had certainly become quite the powerhouse, but Nathan was no softy either. This would truly be a battle for the ages.

Dana then remembered something and pulled out a black necklace saying, "Um, Nathan, I got this for you..." handing it to the boy as he blinked, holding his hand out as she placed it on his palm, the boy looking at it and saying, "It's very nice..." Dana nodding, her cheeks bright pink as she said, "I figured it might give you a boost of confidence when you're feeling down."

Janette giggled at this before whispering into Anna's ear, "Somebody's in love..." Anna giggling and replying, "I know," Nathan and Dana staring at the two as they whistled innocently, Jacob staring as well and sighing, figuring this was normal behaviour for them.

"Well, do the best you can out there," Jacob stated, patting Nathan on the shoulder, "And don't be too upset if you lose."

Izy nodded and replied, "Honey knows that feeling very well," Jacob narrowing his eyelids and remarking, "You just had to go there, didn't you?" Izy smiling innocently as Jacob chuckled, kissing the woman on the cheek.

"I'm sure you'll do well," Janette stated, Anna nodding and adding, "Yeah, you might very well win the tournament," Dana trying to hide her nervousness about that very thought. If Nathan won his battle with Jack, he and Dana would have to battle. Dana didn't want this but she already knew that it had been a possibility since the battle segment started.

After the hour passed, the arena was once again packed, everyone finally having calmed down after the previous events involving Taylor. They were highly anticipating this battle, almost as much as Nathan and Jack themselves.

Yae walked up to the podium and announced, "Alright, ladies and gentlemen, were are now about to witness the last battle that will decide who will face off in the finals! I hope you're all revved up for this, because this promises to be a very exciting match!"

With that, Pep pointed to the West while shouting, "On the Western side, he has dominated both Milo and Jennifer, truly proving his right to be in this tournament! What's more is that he's had all of his Pokemon reach their final forms before this very battle, so he's even more prepared than he was before! With his hotheaded nature that has surprisingly gotten him this far, give a round of applause for Jack!"

Jack slowly made his way into the arena, many audience members cheering wildly for him. Jack smiled and waved, deciding that for once in his life, he'd bask in the glory while it lasted. After all, it wasn't often he had crowds of people chanting his name.

"And on the Eastern side..." Yae announced, pointing to the East, "He has made his way through Cassie and Edgar, also earning his right to be here! Despite not all of his Pokemon being at their highest levels, he's proven himself capable of getting out of tough situations many times! Give a warm welcome to Nathan!" Nathan approaching the battle area as well, everyone going wild, Jason whistling and shouting, "C'MON, SHOW HIM YOU'RE THE BEST!"

Nathan took a deep breath, smiling lightly and saying, "Well, Jack, this is it," Jack nodding and remarking, "Wipe that grin off your face. You know I'm the best here and that I'm gonna prove it today."

"Whatever you say, Jack," Nathan remarked, rolling his eyes as Jack frowned, pointing his fingers at his eyes before directing them toward Nathan, Yae spinning the roulette as it landed on Jack, Jack grinning and saying, "Good, I get to have first pick."

With that, Jack thought hard about this before putting his trust in Haxorus, the dragon taking form and letting out a loud battle cry. Nathan gulped and thought hard about this. Unfortunately, none of his Pokemon particularly had an advantage over Haxorus. Still, he had to at least try as he sent in Celeste. At the very least, Haxorus didn't have any advantages over her techniques.

"I must say, I feel rather insulted right now," Jack said, folding his arms, "I figured you'd choose someone stronger to go up against my Haxorus," Nathan remarking, "Strength isn't everything," Jack rolling his eyes and remarking, "Oh, shut up, yes it is."

Haxorus starting things off by sending Dragon Rage at the bird, Celeste gracefully gliding to the right, avoiding the attack with ease. She then proceeded to fly hard into the dragon's face, delivering Sky Attack. This was an incredibly powerful move, so it was only natural that Haxorus took in a lot of pain from this as Celeste flew a bit away from him to keep her distance so he wouldn't fight back.

"See?" Nathan asked, folding his arms with a smile as Jack scowled and retorted, "That was a lucky shot," the boy then shouting a command of his own as Haxorus fired a Dragon Pulse, once again missing the bird. However, just as Celeste was about to land another strike, the dragon readies his claws, throwing the forward just in time to strike the Unfezant hard in the face, the bird crying out in pain as her head started to bleed.

"There, power is everything," Jack stated as Nathan rolled his eyes and said, "That only worked because you used actual strategy," Jack pausing for a few seconds before saying, "It still had a greater effect than that fancy Sky Attack of hers."

As much as Nathan hated to admit it, Jack did have a point there. Celeste had only taken in one blow and she was already bleeding. There was no doubt about it, Nathan would have to make sure the bird didn't take in at least another blow otherwise she could go down just from that.

With that in mind, he had the bird keep her distance as she unleashed Air Slash, Haxorus easily countering this by throwing his axe jaw in front of the slash, thus rendering it useless. However, the bird then decided to send in Air Cutter, sending many different wind blades at the dragon.

As Haxorus started to bleed slightly on the cheeks, he simply ignored the pain as he saw this as the perfect distraction, shooting another blast of the green fire that was Dragon Rage. This time, Celeste couldn't react in time to avoid that attack as it hit her hard against the chest, Haxorus then leaping up toward the now even more distracted bird with his claws at the ready.

"Don't let that get to you!" Nathan spat as Celeste ignored the pain dealt by Dragon Rage, soaring to the side as Haxorus ended up missing with his Slash attack, losing his balanced as he fell forward into the ground, growling in pain.

But before he could respond to this, Celeste flew in, using another Sky attack on the dragon's back. Haxorus roared loudly in pain as Jack bit his collar, hoping for the best. Luckily for him, Haxorus had managed to ignore just enough of the pain to raise himself up and ram his back hard into Celeste's face, the Unfezant wincing in pain before the dragon once again turned around, this time landing the Slash as Celeste's bleeding spot got slightly bigger, the bird falling hard against the ground and twitching in pain.

Nathan let out a sigh and returned the bird as everyone applauded Jack, the boy smirking and saying, "There, see? Your weak bird couldn't possibly stand up to my powerful dragon," Nathan remarking, "Don't get cocky. You may have won that round, but you won't win the next three."

With that, the roulette spun again, this time landing on Nathan as the boy bit his lip, having to think carefully about this one. Who could he use who could go up against all of Jack's Pokemon? Then he realized a good choice as he sent in Toby, the toad standing tall and proud.

Jack winced and said, "You know, he looked a lot cooler before," Nathan replying, "Yeah, but appearance shouldn't matter," Jack grumbling, hating to admit that Nathan was right, especially when it came to Samurott's pre-evolutionary stages.

Either was, Jack thought hard about his next choice as he decided to go with Bisharp. He seemed like the best choice for some reason. All in all, Nathan felt a tad more confident about this as he had his Seismitoad start things off with Bubblebeam.

However, Bisharp easily dodged the attack as he charged at the toad, sending an X-Scissor to his chest, already managing to draw a bit of blood. So far, things hadn't been looking too good for Nathan. Could he truly defeat Jack in this battle or was he doomed to fail like before?


	43. Chapter 43

Pokemon Legacy

Toby noticed the blood on his torso and trembled, a look of fear in his eyes as Nathan sighed, "Come on, Tobias, you've dealt with worse. Just ignore it," the toad nodding and trying to do so. Though his fear did make sense. After all, Toby still had traces of the wimp he was back when he was still a Tympole and he'd never bled in battle before either.

With that, Toby opened his mouth and shot water into the ground, stirring up a mound of mud and shooting it at Bisharp, using Mud Shot. The bug simply leaped over it before descending toward the toad and holding his arms back, sending them forward when he got close and delivering an X-Scissor to Toby's head.

Toby cried out in pain, rubbing his temple and letting down tears, the crowd in absolute shock. Was this tough Seismitoad really about to cry? So far, Nathan's Pokemon had shown so much dignity even in the face of defeat, which Toby had experienced once.

However, seeing Nathan's look of determination and confidence, Toby gulped and wiped his tears, fuming as Bisharp rushed at him for another X-Scissor, Jack laughing while shouting, "I've just used the same attack twice and this is still easy for me! I'm loving this!"

Unfortunately for Jack, Toby was prepared this time as he sent his fist forward, ramming it hard into Bisharp's face, the bug's face bleeding a bit as he flew back, landing hard against the ground. To make things even better, traces of the toad's scars had vanished, Toby almost completely back to perfect health, and it made sense. He had just used Drain Punch, a move that Bisharp was incredibly weak against and that had the ability to sap the opponent's vitality.

The crowd went wild as Nathan smiled lightly saying, "Excellent job," Bisharp slowly rising back to his feet and breathing heavily as Jack grinned, saying, "I knew there was no way that would take you out for good, Bisharp old buddy!"

With that, Bisharp went in with his claws ready, a dark aura surrounding him. Toby managed to dodge to the right, but Bisharp turned quickly enough to strike him hard in the side. The bug had just used Faint Attack, a move that never missed its target no matter what the circumstances.

He then proceeded to strike the toad with Metal Claw, putting a big gash on his shoulder, even popping open the wart located there, blood dripping down from it. Nathan looked with concern as it seemed this act alone had caused Toby even more pain than before, the toad clinging to his shoulder and trying to ignore the pain.

Unfortunately, it was too late for him to do that as Bisharp rammed his head hard into the toad's gut, Toby coughing up blood, his eyes wide open as he fell hard on his back, his tongue sticking out the side of his head as his body just wouldn't move. Nathan's eyes were wide with shock as he slowly pulled out his Pokeball, returning the toad.

"WHAT!" Jason spat, annoyance in his expression, "HE WAS SO CLOSE!" Izy sighing, "Calm down, Nathan hasn't lost the battle yet," Jason remarking, "Still, Toby was so close to winning that one..."

"Well, well, look at this," Jack said with a grin, folding his arms, "I already have two points. I guess I am the best," Nathan narrowing his eyelids and saying, "Don't get cocky."

With that, the roulette spun as it landed on Jack, Jack grinning and saying, "Oh boy, I get to go first again," this time sending in Zoroark without hesitation. Nathan gulped, not really sure what to do about this until he remembered something he'd seen on the Pokedex when he first saw Zoroark. As it just so happened, Zoroark was weak against bug types.

With that in mind, Nathan whipped out a Pokeball and sent in Hanzo, the Scolipede standing tall as the crowd stared in amazement at the large specimen, Roxanne shivering and saying, "That bug is so big..." Jacob sighing, "Great, you have a fear of big bugs now? I'm just learning all sorts of new reasons to be annoyed by your presence," Roxanne giggling and replying, "Oh, Jacob, you say the funniest things."

Jack simply blinked, his eyes wide open and twitching as he asked, "You mean that self-centered Venipede evolved? Well, that's just perfect," Nathan replying, "He also cooperates with me now," Jack letting out a sigh and saying, "Oh well, it's no big deal."

With that, Zoroark charged toward Hanzo and slashed him with Night Slash on the side of the face. However, Hanzo didn't take too kindly to this, ignoring the pain as he turned his head quickly enough to bite into Zoroark's hand, the fox crying out in pain. To add to the damage, the bug then shifted his head to the right, releasing his hold thus sending the fox flying into the wall, the crowd going wild.

As the fox slowly recovered from the hit, shaking the pain out of her head, she noticed the Scolipede now tucked into a ball and rolling toward her for a Steamroller attack. Seeing this, Zoroark quickly rushed to the right, Hanzo rolling right into the wall. However, much to everyone's surprise, he didn't seem to feel anything from the collision as he quickly turned himself around, rolling toward the fox again.

Jack gulped at the sight of this and snapped, "Come on, Zoroark, quit running away! Try to counter this!" but Zoroark didn't have any way of doing so as she tried leaping over the bug only for Hanzo to ram hard into her legs, he knees now bleeding as she flipped over the bug, falling hard on her head and rolling around in pain.

"That Scolipede is amazing," Janette said, Jason raising his fist in the air shouting, "AW YEAH, THAT'S WHAT I'M TALKING ABOUT!"

Zoroark tried her hardest to get up only for Hanzo's tail to glow purple, the Scolipede ramming it hard into the fox and taking her out for good with Poison Tail. All went silent when the crowd cheered wildly, Hanzo folding two of his legs and nodding with a proud look on his face.

Nathan breathed a sigh of relief and said, "Thanks, Hanzo. Now we have a point in this battle," the bug turning and smiling at his master before nodding, a fighter's look on his face, Nathan returning the centipede.

Nathan smiled lightly as Jack grimaced and snapped, "So you got one point! Big freaking deal! I still have two, and there's no way your next one's gonna beat mine!" the roulette spinning again, this time landing on Nathan.

Nathan had to think hard about this now. As much as he hated to admit it, Jack was right. Currently, Nathan was in trouble and needed to make sure his next Pokemon was strong enough to defeat Jack's partner. With that in mind, the boy took a deep breath, sending in Sammy, her being his most trusted ally and all.

"I notice your Sammy Whammy has started working well with you again," Jack said with a grin, "I'm now looking forward to this," this time sending in Krookodile. He didn't know why, but for some reason, this just felt necessary to him.

With that, the battle began with the crocodile rushing at Sammy, his jaws wide open. However, Sammy simply dodged to the right, ramming her claw hard into the side of the reptile's head, Krookodile wincing in pain. Sammy then added to this with Metal Claw.

As Krookodile backed up, he rubbed the side of his face and growled, Jack saying, "Come on, you can do better than that," the reptile nodding and raising his foot, stomping it hard against the ground as it shook, a blast of seismic energy going toward Sammy and striking her hard, causing her to fall on her back as she cried out in pain.

Once the rumbling stopped, Yae was shaken up as she groaned, "Note to self... ban Earthquake from tournaments..."

However, Sammy slowly started to rise back to her feet, Krookodile refusing to stand for this as he started swiping his claws against the ground, forming a hole in no time and jumping down into it, using Dig. Nathan and Sammy both stared nervously as Sammy gulped, looking around.

"Sammy, forget all other sounds around you," Nathan said, "Just focus on the sound of digging," the mole nodding and smiling before closing her eyes ignoring the crowd and everything else around her.

"What are they doing?" Dana asked with worry, Jason biting his lip and saying, "Great, Nathan's admitting defeat now..." Jacob sighing, "Really, is it not obvious what they're doing right now?"

After a few seconds, Sammy heard the sound approaching as she leaped to the side just in time to avoid Krookodile as he rose up. However, Jack had a grin on his face, almost as if he saw this coming as he spat, "NOW, KROOKODILE!" the reptile opened his jaws and clamping down on Sammy's arm, the mole crying out in pain as her blood squirted out.

"I knew your precious Sammy would dodge that," Jack said with a grin, Nathan's eyes wide with shock, the boy rather impressed by this strategy as Krookodile proceeded to hurl the Excadrill hard into the wall, Jack adding, "I just needed some convenient way for him to get close."

Sammy grimaced and rubbed the back of her head, Nathan gulping, now feeling nervous. If Sammy couldn't beat Krookodile, the battle would be over and Jack would win. Nathan wouldn't have minded losing, sure, but he still liked the possibility that he could win and stop Jack from rubbing the victory in his face.

However, before he could think up a strategy, Krookodile dug under the ground once again, Nathan thinking hard about a way around this before saying, "That's it," then shouted, "Sammy, use Dig as well!" the mole nodding and burrowing under the ground, Jason blinking and asking, "Why's he having her do that?" Izy grinning and saying, "Because he's a genius, that's why."

And this certainly was a good strategy. In fact, it was so simple that Nathan was a tad ashamed of himself for not coming up with it sooner. With Sammy underground, she could fight fairly with the Krookodile in her own element, and since she was mole-based, she was more fit to fight underground.

After a while, the crowd could hear the sounds of fighting under the Earth, the battle taking place down there clearly getting rather intense. But who was winning the battle? Was it Krookodile or Sammy? The outcome was anyone's guess.

After a few seconds, though, some of the ground was starting to come up as everyone knew the winner of the battle would rise up. Unfortunately, it didn't look so good as Krookodile was the one to crawl out from under the dirt, standing tall and raising two peace signs in the air, Nathan's eyes wide with horror while Jack grinned.

"No..." Dana said, the crowd gasping as Yae said, "Well, I guess this means that..." but before she could make her final verdict, Krookodile coughed up blood, his eyes rolling to the back of his head as he fell forward, landing hard on his jaw against the ground, Sammy rising up and breathing heavily, pointing at Krookodile as if to tell him to stay down.

Yae nodded and announced, "Well, with that out of the way, Sammy wins and Nathan takes the point!" the crowd going wild, Dana squealing happily as Jack's eye twitched, the boy not even sure what to make of this. How did Krookodile even have the strength to stand if he'd taken in that much damage?

Still, at the same time, he was rather glad that Nathan had earned himself that point. This made the battle much more interesting.

Nathan breathed a sigh of relief and returned Sammy, a light smile on his face as he said, "Don't scare me like that again," before pulling out one last Pokeball and saying, "Alright, Jack, your winning streak is over," Jack letting out a sigh and remarking, "I seriously doubt that."

With that, the roulette started to spin, landing on Jack this time. Jack grinned, petting his Samurott on the head, the seal smiling with much glee, Jack saying, "I'm counting on you, buddy," the seal then putting on a serious look and giving his master an army salute, making his way into the battle area.

Nathan smiled and said, "Well, I got just the Pokemon for this," sending in Zelda as Jack nodded, saying, "I figured you'd choose her."

With that, Zelda sent her vines at Samurott without hesitation, the seal rushing at her with his body covered by water. When the vines latched themselves to him, the water current managed to knock them off as the seal hit the Servine hard in the chest with Aqua Jet.

Before the snake could even respond, Samurott turned his body around and rammed his tail hard into her face, sending her skidding across the ground with Aqua Tail. Zelda slowly came to a halt, pushing herself up as Nathan breathed a sigh of relief and said, "Come on, Zelda, you got the type advantage. I know you can do this."

With that, the snake nodded before opening up her mouth, a green aura surrounding Samurott as he took in pain, energy being sucked from his body. However, he was not willing to let the snake get away with using Mega Drain and as such fired a Water Pulse hard into Zelda's face.

But before he could do even more, Zelda let out her vines from her armpits and let out a battle cry, spinning her body around and whipping Samurott in the cheek with them repeatedly. The crowd went wild until Samurott lost his patience and lowered his head, raising it just in time to use his horn to slice open the vines.

With that, the seal charged at Zelda, Nathan shouting, "STOP HIM WITH LEAF TORNADO!" as the snake spun her body around, conjuring up a twister of leaves and sending it toward the water mammal. However, Samurott merely ignored it when it hit, not even paying mind to the cuts forming on his body as he rushed straight through it, his horn glowing briefly, the seal sending it down Zelda's midsection, the snake crying out in agony as blood flew from her chest, the reptile falling hard on her back.

Despite being a water type move, Razor Shell was still a powerful technique to deal with. As such, it seemed as if Zelda was about to pass out from the pressure as Nathan bit his lip, letting out a sigh and slowly raising his Pokeball.

"No!" Dana cried, clasping her hand over her mouth as the others stared in absolute shock. Had Nathan actually lost the battle?

The answer soon became clear when Zelda started to twitch, raising her head as suddenly, her leaf hands and feet started to vanish. Everyone stared in shock at the sight of this, Jack's blinking and asking, "Wait, didn't I just win?"

Suddenly, Zelda's body started to become longer, curling much more and becoming a long tail in itself, the tip now resembling a green bush branch. The skin atop her head soon split apart, now looking like ears, a formation like the collar of an outfit forming around her neck. No one could believe their eyes as Zelda had now become a Serperior.

The crowd cheered wildly as Jack stared at this, blinking and asking, "Wait, this is supposed to be an upgrade? She lost her hands and feet!" Nathan running over and hugging Zelda, the girl smiling happily as the trainer said, "Who cares? She's even more beautiful than ever before!"

The Serperior's eyes sparkled as she let down tears of joy, Nathan then letting go of her and walking back to his side saying, "Right, we still got a battle to win."

With that, Samurott refused to let the snake take advantage of this as he fired a Hydro Pump into her face, sending her back a bit. But luckily for Nathan, Zelda quickly recovered from the damage as she curled her tail, springing up into the air and spinning her tail rapidly around, leaves made from light forming around her.

The leaves were then blasted right at Samurott, his eyes wide and his jaw dropped, the Leaf Storm hitting him fast and hard as his body was now covered in more cuts, the seal letting out a cry of pain and falling hard on his side. After a few seconds, everyone realized he wasn't moving as Yae and Pep rose their arms in the air shouting, "NATHAN HAS NOW WON AND WILL BE DANA'S OPPONENT IN THE FINAL BATTLE!"

The crowd was ecstatic now, loud cheers erupting through the area as Nathan ran over to Zelda again, hugging her and saying, "You are so awesome!" Jack stared in shock as he slowly walked over to Samurott kneeling down and stroking the side of the seal's head with a warm smile on his face, probably the one look no one expected to see from him.

"You did an excellent job, buddy," Jack said, then sighed, "Too bad I'm gonna have to carry you to the center," slowly positioning his ally upright and turning his back to her, his arms soon going back and latching onto the seal's face as Jack attempted to lift his face up onto his back.

Nathan then turned to Jack and grinned saying, "That was excellent," Jack then his head toward him, grinning and saying, "Yeah, maybe we should do this with all six Pokemon and no regulations some time," Nathan nodding and replying, "I'd like that."

As Jack walked slowly out of the area, puffing and wheezing from the weight of dragging a big seal along the ground, everyone clapped and cheered, Pep sniffing, "This is so touching!" Yae sighing and patting the nurse on the back.

Dana then ran over to Nathan and embraced him, squealing, "I KNEW YOU COULD DO IT!" Nathan laughing and patting her back, not willing to bring up the fact that they'd have to face each other in the finals now.


	44. Chapter 44

Pokemon Legacy

Note: Nathan and Dana's song they sing before going to bed is heavily inspired by 'No Matter What' from the English dub of Yu-Gi-Oh.

The rest of the day went by rather smoothly with Nathan and his friends celebrating his and Dana's victories in the semi-finals. The two decided to ignore the fact that they had to face each other in the finals for the time being, figuring that little tidbit of information could ruin their good mood.

Luckily, they wouldn't have to worry about that just yet as the two had an extra day to prepare for the main event. Though the tension was certainly going to be high as both these trainers were exceptional in skill.

On one hand, Nathan could have easily been the most illegible to win as he'd always been confident about his abilities from the get-go. He often kept his cool and tried not to overreact to everything. Even so, he did have his moments of weakness and there were times he'd even lose confidence in his own abilities.

Dana could very well win as well as she often had a tendency for pulling out of tough situations when it really counted, not to mention she had the legendary Victini on her team. However, she was also much more outwardly sensitive than Nathan and often overreacted to things. It also often took her a while to come up with good strategies as they'd normally come to her after her Pokemon had taken in quite a bit of damage.

After a nice dinner, the trainers were headed back to their quarters, Nathan walking back to the arena with Dana by his side, patting her on the shoulder and smiling lightly while saying, "Good luck out there," Dana gulping a bit and nodding her head, trying to hide her nervousness while saying, "You too, Nathan."

Naturally, Nathan was just as nervous about this as Dana was, but as usual, he was 'too cool' to actually show it. Even so, he knew he'd have to ignore such thoughts, especially since this was the finals and all that. If anything, this was the worst time to let friendship dictate their actions.

After entering the arena, Nathan walked toward his room, waving at Dana and saying, "Goodnight," Dana nodding and telling the boy the same. The two walked off, Nathan letting out a sigh and singing to himself, "It has come to this after everything we've done, now it's time to decide which of us is number one. I can't say I completely wanna do this, but I guess this is just how life is."

He then opened the door to his room before adding, "We're closer than siblings," entering and letting his Pokemon out of their balls before adding, "but now we have to face one-another. Hopefully this won't be so awkward, like having to fight your own brother."

Sammy then patted her master on the shoulder as he smiled softly at the mole before crawling into bed and stating, "But in the end, we will still remain friends, and in the end, this battle we'll have to attend. Cause in the end, we kinda saw it coming, and in the end, to back out now would be unbecoming..."

The boy then looked up at the ceiling before singing, "But I know that in the end, we will still remain amazing friends because that sorta thing never dies."

Meanwhile, Dana was getting ready for bed as well while singing, "I had hoped to avoid this, a battle between the two of us. Why am I overreacting to this? What's with all the fuss?"

Her Pokemon looked at the girl with concern as she sighed and added, "I guess what's done is done, whoever wins this battle will be the strongest one. I cannot chicken out and disappoint, I have to try my hardest and find his weak points."

She then let out a sigh as Queen fluffed up her pillow, the girl lying her head down and singing, "But in the end, we will still remain friends, and in the end, this battle we'll have to attend. Cause in the end, we kinda saw it coming, and in the end, to back out now would be unbecoming..."

Victini then crawled in next to Dana who gave the creature a quick one-handed hug before sighing, "But I know that in the end, we will still remain amazing friends because that sorta thing never dies."

And with that, the two rested up for the long battle ahead, knowing they'd have to forget their friendship before this. What pained Dana the most, however, was that now she had to wait even longer before expressing her feelings toward Nathan. In other words, she'd have to wait until the time when the two were supposed to return home and separate.

The following morning, Dana and Nathan were busy training and separate locations, doing their absolute best, not wanting to disappoint one-another. Every now and then, Jason would visit each one and help them spar with his monkeys. Needless to say, he lost to both of them, but that in itself was a good sign, so it wasn't as if this got to him.

However, while Dana's Pokemon were taking a break, Jason sat next to her on a bench and said, "Man, you're doing really well," Dana smiling and saying, "Thanks..." then sighed, "I hope I'm good enough."

Jason shrugged and said, "Who knows? Nathan is a tough trainer..." then noticed the look on Dana's face and the way her cheeks were turning pink, Jason sighed, "You really think he's gonna date you based off of your skill?"

Dana looked up and blinked as Jason added, "He said before that he considered you just as beautiful on the inside as your are on the outside. You don't think that means something? I'm sure he likes you very much. It's not like doing poorly in the battle would change that."

Dana let out a sigh and nodded as the boy rolled his eyes and stated, "Also, focus on the battle. If anything, Nathan would hate for you to get cold feet just because of him," Dana nodding once more and putting on a confident smile, saying, "You're right, Jason," then stood up and asked, "Wanna spar again? There are three others your monkeys haven't face yet."

Meanwhile, Nathan was training hard when at that moment, Jacob entered and said, "Looking good," Nathan blinking and turning to face him saying, "Hey, Jacob, what's up?"

"Well, just wanted to make sure you're in high spirits for your battle," the man replied as Nathan smiled lightly and stated, "Yeah, I'm fine. I just hope Dana's not getting cold feet because if I win, I want that victory to be earned."

Jacob nodded and whipped out all six of his Pokeballs saying, "Well, you got a whole day to prepare. What say we have ourselves a little practice battle?" Nathan blinking as Jacob added, "You know, two finalists going at it. It's good preparation."

Nathan nodded and figured this may very well be a really good idea. After all, Jacob was the owner of the Lucario who had saved the world six years ago and was second place in the Celtia Region's Ultimate Pokemon Challenge. If anything, the only training partner who would be better was Janette, who had placed first.

And so the practice battles played out, Dana dominating Jason's monkeys yet again and squealing with excitement, very confident in her abilities. During this time, however, Nathan didn't have such luck as he ended up losing to Jacob.

Seeing this, he looked down as Jacob sighed, "Come on, kid, are you really gonna let that get you down? You were close," Nathan biting his lip as Jacob rolled his eyes, walking over to the teen and placing a hand on his shoulder, saying, "Come on, I'm more experienced than you and saved the world once. The fact that you almost beat me is no small feat."

"You're right," Nathan replied, chuckling a bit, "I can't believe I almost lost my cool," then noticing it was one in the afternoon, Nathan added, "Well, I guess now it's time to enjoy the rest of the day. Dana and I agreed that we'd only train the morning so our Pokemon would have enough rest and we could enjoy the rest of the day."

Then hearing his stomach growl, Nathan held onto his stomach saying, "I still haven't had lunch yet," Jacob rolling his eyes and saying, "Come on, I'll treat you to lunch. You need to keep your head in the game."

With that, Dana and Jason decided to go to a local fast-food restaurant for something simple while Jacob took Nathan along with Izy and Rachel to a slightly fancier restaurant, which Nathan thought was a little unnecessary but decided not to question too much. Jason and Dana had simply ordered a burger and some fries for each while their Pokemon ate in another area.

"I have to admit," Jason said, "you're coming along very well, Dana," Dana blushing and saying, "Thanks..."

Jason nodded and added, "Alright, before this battle truly starts, there's one last thing you need to know," Dana listening closely as Jason then leaned his head toward her face and said, "Do not let your friendship distract you, got it?" Dana putting on a serious look and nodding.

"Of course I won't," Dana replied with a smile, "Nathan wouldn't want me to hold back," Jason nodding with a grin and saying, "Well, it's good to know you're on the right page and remember, at the end of the day, you'll still be excellent friends, or maybe more," winking and making a nudging motion while adding, "Eh? Eh? Know what I mean? Say no more."

Dana's cheek turned bright pink as she nodded and said, "Right... I just gotta remember to tell him before it's too late," Jason nodding and adding, "And don't forget to wait until AFTER your battle to tell him. Don't forget, he may take it easy on you if he knew how you felt about him."

Dana nodded with a confident smile on her face as she finished her lunch. Despite her affection for Nathan, there was no way she'd just let him walk all over her without having to work for it.

Meanwhile, Nathan saw a big, fancy plate of food before him as he said, "Really, it's not even dinner time yet. Isn't this a little much?" Izy laughing before saying, "Oh, come on, you big baby. Surely you can handle that," Jacob nodding and saying, "Come on, you need to be well-fed if you want to stay focused."

Nathan let out a sigh and nodded before saying, "Thanks for all your help," taking a bite of some of his food, Izy giving Nathan thumbs up and saying, "Give her Hell for me," Jacob pointing at Rachel as Izy sighed, "It's not like she can understand what we're saying yet."

"Hell!" Rachel squeaked with a giggle as Jacob narrowed his eyelids, Izy laughing before rubbing Rachel's head saying, "That's my girl," Nathan chuckling a bit.

"You two are a perfect match," Nathan replied, "So different and yet so similar. It's really something," Izy nodding and replying, "Some people question our love for each other. It's nice to know you see it like we do."

Jacob nodded and kissed Izy on the cheek before saying, "Now, remember, Nathan, don't treat Dana lightly just because you're friends. She probably wouldn't like it if you took it easy on her," Nathan nodding and saying, "Don't you worry about a thing. I know how serious this battle is."

Later that day, Nathan was playing with Sammy in the park when he noticed Dana and waved with a light smile. Dana grinned widely and waved before running over to him, Nathan then holding out his hand, Dana blinking and shaking it.

"Here's to a good fight tomorrow," Nathan stated, Dana nodding and replying, "I'm not gonna go easy on you just so you know," Nathan nodding and stating, "I wouldn't want it any other way."

With that, the two decided to sit on a bench while their Pokemon played with each other, Nathan saying, "We've really come a long way, haven't we?" Dana nodding and saying, "Yeah, one minute we had barely known one-another and I wasn't that good of a trainer and the next, we're both great friends and in the finals..." then blushed while smiling at Nathan and adding, "I can't help feeling that if it hadn't been for you, I still wouldn't be much of a trainer."

Nathan blinked and said, "Oh no, I'm sure you did most of that on your own," Dana giggling and saying, "Still, you helped a lot," then gave Nathan a hug, saying, "Thank you for accepting me as your first human friend."

Nathan smiled warmly and patted Dana on the back saying, "Thanks for being my first human friend," the two holding the hug for well over a minute, Dana then realizing what she was doing and let go, her cheeks now beet red.

"Well, may the best trainer win, I guess," the girl squeaked before giggling, Nathan nodding and saying, "Yeah, let's make this battle a good one," holding his fist out as Dana pounded hers against it.

The rest of the day went well, everyone having dinner together later and were soon about to head back to the arena to rest. Dana went on ahead as Nathan decided to check out Excel City a little bit more. After all, this was his last full day here and he wanted to enjoy it while it lasted.

While Nathan walked around, he noticed Jack slowly approaching him, the boy's hands in his pockets and he had what looked like a scowl on his face. Nathan rolled his eyes, hoping that Jack wasn't going to challenge him to a rematch.

However, when the boy approached Nathan, his scowl became a grin as he held out his hand saying, "Best of luck to you tomorrow, man," Nathan standing there silent, not sure what to make of this. Was Jack really looking for a handshake?

"Oh, come on," Jack groaned, seeing Nathan's look of doubt, "Let's just let bygones be bygones. I don't want to fight you anymore," Nathan then shaking Jack's hand and asking, "So are we friends again?" Jack nodding and saying, "Yeah, but don't go showing off to people. That would be embarrassing."

Jack then bowed his head to Nathan, figuring he should let the boy carry on with whatever he was doing. Nathan simply held up his hand, implying a wave before letting out a sigh of relief. Things really had taken a turn for the better, and since he was facing Dana, he didn't feel as much pressure as he usually did before a battle. After all, a fight between friends was more fun than a fight between enemies.

After a good night's sleep, it was finally time for the big day. The arena was filled to the brim with people, Jack getting a front-row seat so he could witness this battle himself. Jason didn't bother to have his monkeys posing as cheerleaders this time around as this was between his friends and this was not the time to be playing favourites. All he hoped for was that each would put up a good fight and take the results well.

Roxanne was nervously trembling while uttering, "I don't know who to route for! Do I cheer for Nathan or Dana? I mean, Dana's so nice, but Nathan's nice too," Jacob sighing, "If it means anything to you, we're not exactly cheering for anyone in particular either."

With that, Yae approached the stage as the audience settled down, the professor taking the mic and stating, "Alright, this is it, everyone! It's finally time for the final battle of the Ultimate Pokemon Challenge!" everyone cheering as Pep squealed, "This is gonna be really exciting! Both these trainers have really made a name for themselves, but of course, only one can walk away victorious!"

"Before I forget," Yae added, "Normally we'd have a one-Pokemon battle to decide which semi-finalist deserves third place, but since Taylor's, well, dead, we have no choice but to have Jack win by default," Jack groaning, "Default... that's even more disgraceful than losing," while those sitting next to him clapped anyway, Jack rolling his eyes.

With that, Yae stated, "This will be a more traditional battle, only now each trainer is allowed up to six Pokemon for this battle! Needless to say, whoever has at least one remaining will be the winner! And so without further ado, let's introduce our finalists!"

The crowd cheered as Pep stated, "The one coming from the Western Side has seen many-a-battle. She has faced Russel, Trent and Taylor and managed to defeat them all despite difficult circumstances. With her sweet, bubbly personality and amazing ability to get out of tight spots, here's Dana!"

The crowd went wild as Dana entered, waving at the crowd, her friends giving her thumbs up. Sabrina bit her lip, secretly hoping that Nathan would come out on top but refusing to play favourites.

"And on the Eastern side..." Yae exclaimed, "is one who's fighting spirit is truly to be admired! So far, he's proven himself to be very skilled at training, often starting off just as strong as he ends up being! He has taken care of Cassie, Edgar and Jack and has drilled his way to the finals! I of course refer to Nathan!"

The crowd cheered just as loudly for Nathan as he walked in with a look of confidence on his face. As soon as he approached his spot on the arena floor, her bowed to Dana, Dana smiling and bowing back. This was truly going to be a battle to remember.

Note: Jason saying 'Know what I mean' and 'Say no more' is a reference to Monty Python.


	45. Chapter 45

Pokemon Legacy

This was it. Finally, Nathan and Dana were going to battle, and the winner of this would be the champion of the Ultimate Pokemon Challenge. As the roulette formed and started spinning, Nathan and Dana looked at each other, trying not to let their friendship dictate whatever decisions they'd make.

After a few seconds, the pointer landed on Nathan as the boy thought hard about who to choose for this. Since Dana had two electric types, he didn't see much of an advantage coming from him using Celeste. Zelda was also out of the question as the girl had two fire types, and with Electra on Dana's team, Hanzo wasn't the best of picks either.

Then it came to him as he grinned and said, "Alright, Dana, I hope you're ready for this," before hurling a Pokeball forward and sending in Toby, the Seismitoad taking form while some audience were confused by this, Jason blinking and asking, "He does remember she has two electric types, right?"

Dana let out a sigh and hoped Nathan didn't make this mistake intentionally to give her a chance, but took full advantage of this by sending in Electra, the Emolga taking form and performing many aerial tactics. With that, the battle truly started with Electra flying toward Toby only for the toad to unleash a loud sound wave from his mouth called Loud Voice.

Electra held onto her ears and flew backwards into a wall as Dana gasped and spat, "COME ON, ELECTRA, ARE YOU GONNA TAKE THAT!" the Emolga shaking the pain off of her head as Dana shouted another command, Electra flying at Toby and unleashing Thundershock toward him.

However, instead of trying to dodge it, Toby simply stood there, folding his arms and taking it with a calm look on his face, so unlike his old self. Strangely enough, he showed no signs of damage from it, not even a burn mark.

Electra blinked, her eyes wide with shock as Dana stared in confusion before snapping out of it and having Electra fly forward again, this time covering her body in electricity for Discharge. However, she she collided with the toad's chest, Toby once again took in no pain whatsoever as he picked up the rodent by the tail and flung her away from him, Electra falling face-first into the ground and skidding across it.

Even the crowd couldn't figure this out as Dana blinked, asking, "Wait, how does that work?" Nathan nodding and replying, "Well, due to Toby's ground attributes, he's immune to electric attacks, his only weakness being to grass types, which you don't have. That's why I chose him first," the crowd rather impressed by this as they applauded him, Jason's eyes wide with shock as Izy shrugged, saying, "Believe me, kid, I didn't know that either."

Dana breathed heavily as Nathan smiled saying, "We both promised we wouldn't take each other lightly just because of out friendship, so I'm taking this battle seriously," Dana grinning and nodding before saying, "Right. At first, I thought you were trying to make this easy for me."

Luckily for her, Electra did know plenty of non-electric type attacks, but she'd have to be careful now. After taking in two powerful attacks, she could go down with another couple. As such, Dana immediately had her use Agility before having the rodent use Quick Attack.

This time, when Toby fought back, Electra swerved to the right before running hard into the side of the toad's head, then whipped him with her tail to lower his defense. Electra then proceeded to nimbly strike the toad, using Acrobatics as Toby groaned in pain. Now things had truly turned in Dana's favour.

As Electra started flying toward the toad again, Nathan realized he had to think hard now. Now that Dana knew how useless electric attacks were, she and the Emolga were doing everything to make sure Tobias wouldn't strike the flying mouse. The toad attempted to strike her with anything he could come up with, but each time he'd miss and take in either Acrobatics or Quick Attack.

After taking in four blows, Nathan realized something they could do as he shouted, "Toby, aim a Hydro Pump toward Electra then start turning your body and setting up for a Drain Punch!" the toad nodding, his cheeks puffing up as he let loose the blast of water.

However, Electra easily dodged to the side but was shocked to see Toby turn his body in that very direction moments before she even did it, thus striking her with a bit of the water coming from him. However, Electra ignored the pain as she soared in only to take a fierce Drain Punch to the face, Toby regaining some of his vitality as Electra fell hard on her back, her eyes swirling as the crowd cheered wildly, Dana's eyes wide with shock as she returned Electra.

"I have to say, you did make a quick recovery from the beginning," Nathan said with a light smile, "Good job," Dana taking a deep breath and saying, "Well, you did an excellent job making up for all that damage dealt by Electra."

Dana couldn't be mad at Nathan for this sort of thing. After all, Nathan had been a smart trainer from the get-go. If anything, Dana would have been disappointed have he not found a way through her strategy.

However, Nathan now had one point and Electra was out-cold, meaning if he summoned Celeste, Dana wouldn't have quite as high of a chance. Nevertheless, she wasn't going to let this get to her as she then sent in King, knowing he was the only one Toby wouldn't have an advantage over. Then again, it wasn't as if Nathan had a whole lot that had an advantage over King to begin with.

Still, Nathan felt it might be too risky to keep Toby in the battle as he returned the frog, replacing him with Wilbur, seeing as Dana didn't have much to go up against him either. There was another reason, but what could it have been?

Either way, he started things up by having the Zebstrika hit the coffin with Shock Wave, King wincing in pain but ignoring it while sending Shadow Ball at the zebra's face, Wilbur growling as he charged toward the sarcophagus. King then attempted to strike the zebra again only for Wilbur to easily dodge to the right, a dark aura surrounding him as he rammed his body hard into the coffin's chest, King's eyes going wide as the zebra backed up, grinning with pride.

The crowd was cheering once again as Nathan smiled and said, "That attack was the reason I went with Wilbur," Dana blinking and then realizing the zebra had just used Pursuit. Since it was a dark type move, King took in extra damage from it.

However, Dana wasn't going to let Nathan get another point, at least not yet. As such, she had King fight back with Ominous Wind, sending it toward Wilbur. The zebra ignored the pain dealt by it as he charged toward the coffin, using Agility to add to his speed as he was able to fight through the wind, charging toward King, the Ominous Wind even combining with him to add to his power.

But just as he was about to strike, King grinned wickedly, bringing up the big eyeball known as Hex. Upon seeing it, Wilbur screeched to a halt, standing dead in his tracks with his eyes wide open before falling over on his side, passing out.

Nathan gulped as Dana squealed and hugged her Cofagrigus exclaiming, "Great job, King!" Nathan smiling lightly and chuckling a bit before returning Wilbur. He had to admit, that was quite brilliant, using Hex to stop Wilbur in his tracks. Still, things had officially gotten more difficult now as Dana and Nathan were now tied.

Still, a tie wasn't exactly a loss, so Nathan decided to let Dana enjoy this one victory before sending in Hanzo. He wasn't sure why, but he just saw the bug as a good replacement.

All the while, Jason bit his lip and said, "I hope she doesn't decide to send in Pyro or Victini, otherwise Nathan's gonna regret this choice for sure," Jacob blinking and asking, "Are you playing favourites?" Jason blinking and shaking his head, grinning nervously saying, "Why, no, of course not..."

"Personally, I hope that Scolipede does win," Roxanne stated, "Sure, they're both pretty ugly, but Nathan's Pokemon is easier to look at," Jacob sighing, "There you go again with your bias."

Hanzo immediately started things off by rolling up into a ball, spinning toward King at a rapid pace. King immediately started to freak out, thinking there was no way he could survive this one. As such, he held his arms out as a strange force emitted from them, heading into Hanzo. Strangely enough, though, this attack didn't seem to have any effect on the bug as Dana and Nathan stared in confusion, both wondering what exactly King had just done.

Shortly afterwards, though, Hanzo rammed hard into the coffin as he groaned in pain, about to be forced into the wall as he used all four of his arms to lift the Scolipede up like a basketball and send him downward into the ground, the centipede groaning while his back lay on the ground. But just as the Cofagrigus was about to take full advantage of this, Hanzo repositioned his tail so it was pointed at King's face, releasing a stinger that hit him square between the eyes, grey blood coming out as King cried out in pain from the Poison Sting, Hanzo rolling backwards and giving himself distance.

"Alright, let's finish this with Pursuit," Nathan said as Hanzo nodded, charging toward the distracted King as Dana gasped, shouting, "Come on, King, ignore the pain and fight back!"

Unfortunately for her, it was too late as King took in a fierce blow to the face, passing out while the crowd cheered. But while King lay on his back, Hanzo standing tall and proud, his eyes suddenly shot wide open, the bug's body twitching.

"Hanzo?" Nathan asked, "Are you alright?" his question soon answered as the bug fell over on his side, motionless. Everyone in the crowd stared at this, scratching their heads as Yae let out a sigh, explaining, "Cofagrigus used Destiny Bond earlier," everyone soon nodding their heads in understanding, some only pretending to get it.

"What's Destiny Bond?" Dana asked, blinking as Nathan folded his arms and said, "It's a move that guarantees that if an opponent knocks out the user, said opponent will go down right at the end of the fight as well. I guess King was expecting to lose when he used it."

Dana then nodded, truly understanding now as she hugged King's Pokeball saying, "Thank you for earning me another point," the roulette then coming into play again seeing as both trainers had to change Pokemon now.

This time, the pointer landed on Dana's face as she gulped, now feeling rather nervous. With King down for the count, she no longer had a Pokemon with no weakness to any of Nathan's partners. However, in the end, she decided to try her luck with Edmond, the Crustle grinning with confidence, pointing one of his arms forward as if to challenge Nathan.

Nathan had to think about this one. On one hand, Celeste would certainly be a good choice, but a Crustle wasn't exactly weak against a flying type. He also didn't have any fire types, so that was out of the question. However, there was one particular type that he knew Edmond would be weak against as he sent Toby back in, the toad putting up a fighter stance.

Dana clasped her hand over her mouth, not sure what to do against the frog. It wasn't as if Edmond had an advantage over the amphibian and he was weak against water type moves. Still, she had to be confident. After all, Edmond had beaten a water type before.

With that, Edmond started things off with Rock Blast, sending the rocks flying toward Toby's face. Toby simply held up his arms, blocking the projectiles but taking a bit of damage to his arms. Nonetheless, he chose to ignore this as he launched a Hydro Pump toward the scorpion.

Edmond simply tucked himself under his enormous stone of a shell and carried it slowly toward his opponent, Nathan knowing exactly what he was doing and shouting, "Stop!" Toby doing so and staring at Nathan, Edmond also stopping his progression and remaining in his shell as Nathan said, "Aim one towards the ground."

Toby blinked but refused to question this as he fired a blast of water right in front of Edmond's shell. This caused the dirt below the grass to turn into mud as Nathan gave the toad another command, Toby aiming his Hydro Pump back up as Edmond instinctively progressed forward, stepping into the mud.

Everyone stared in admiration, finally figuring out what Nathan's strategy was as Edmond was soon stuck in the mud, trying desperately to get his feet out as Dana gasped, "EDMOND, NO!"

Soon, the scorpion was losing his breath under the shell was he lifted it up so he could take a quick breather, his eyes going wide as he took a Bubble Beam to the face, flying backwards, his feet finally out of the mud. However, he had taken in a lot of damage from that and had to make up for it.

As such, the scorpion noticed a prop rock right before him as he lifted it up, focusing hard on it before it changed into a big boulder, Nathan seeing what he was doing and spat, "TOBIAS, DON'T LET HIM USE THAT!" the frog nodding and firing another Hydro Pump forward only for the Crustle to let loose the boulder, the huge rock blocking the water and it soon rammed hard into the toad's face, the Rock Wrecker causing his nostrils to bleed as he passed out.

The crowd went wild as Dana breathed a sigh of relief, smiling sweetly at Edmond, the scorpion grinning with pride. Nathan stared in shock briefly before returning Toby and saying, "Wow... that was awesome."

With that, the boy took a deep breath as he now needed a new strategy. Luckily for him, Edmond had been weakened by Toby, but was that truly enough? He needed to think now.

After a few seconds, he gulped and decided to try his luck with Sammy, the mole standing tall and proud as Jason said, "Wow, he's already desperate enough to send in his best. Let's just hope that's good enough."

However, upon seeing who her opponent was, Sammy gulping and trembled a bit, Nathan asking, "Are you afraid to fight one of your friends?" the mole nodding as Nathan let out a sigh, petting her head and saying, "It's okay, buddy. Dana wouldn't want you to go easy on her," Dana nodding and saying, "He's right. I can handle whatever you can dish out," Sammy taking a deep breath and putting on a serious look.

Considering Edmond's big shell, Nathan knew right away something he could do as he spat, "Sammy, use Earthquake!" the mole nodding before stamping her foot hard into the ground, causing it to shake. Edmond was unable to defend against this as he took in extreme pain from this, Sammy then burrowing underground.

Dana gulped, biting her lip as she said, "Edmond, try to locate her and avoid her," the scorpion nodding as he closed his eyes, hearing the mole approaching. Unfortunately, the bug was too slow to avoid the incoming attack as Sammy rose up, striking Edmond from underneath and causing the bug to fly a bit into the air, landing shell-first into the ground and finding himself unable to move, Nathan receiving another point.

"Just when you think one of them's gonna win, the other ties it almost instantly," Anna said with a smile, "This is truly intense now," Nathan returning Sammy all the while and saying, "Good job."

"I can't take it anymore..." Jason said, gritting his teeth, "I just want it to end so we know which one of them is better," Janette smiling and stating, "Well, I'm really liking this battle so far."

Dana took a deep breath and decided to go with Queen, the Galvantula looking proud as Dana said, "Now do your best out there and forget about the fact that you're facing a friend," Queen bowing to her master as Nathan sent in Celeste, the crowd rather confused by this move.

After all, sending in an Unfezant to go up against a Galvantula was very risky. For starters, Celeste was weak against electric type attacks, and to make this choice even more confusing, Queen wasn't even weak against flying type moves despite her bug DNA.

Nevertheless, Nathan seemed confident as he smiled, saying, "I have to admit, Dana, you're doing a really good job," Dana nodding and replying, "Yeah, you're doing really good yourself. I'm just glad neither of us has been a disappointment so far."

Truthfully, Dana wanted to finish this just as much as Jason wanted it to end. Sure, battles with friends was fun, but with so much on the line, this had gotten to be a really intense battle so far. Dana was really determined to make sure Nathan wouldn't stand out on top, and with him being more than just a friend to her, this was a strange way of thinking for her. Nevertheless, Nathan wasn't willing to lose either. It was anyone's guess which of the two would come out on top now.


	46. Chapter 46

Pokemon Legacy

Now it was time for the battle to resume as Queen fired an Electro Ball up toward Celeste. However, the bird easily swerved around it before flying toward Queen, picking up wind with Gust and flying right over the spider, causing Queen to take in quite a bit of damage.

The Unfezant then sent an Air Cutter toward the distracted Galvantula, putting cuts all over Queen's body. However, Queen was so obsessed with making her master happy that she ignored the pain, launching a string of silk from her rear end and latching it onto Celeste's leg.

The bird's eyes went wide as Queen shifted her head toward, slamming Celeste's body hard against the ground before covering her body in electricity, setting up for Discharge. But rather than running right into the Unfezant, she instead pulled the bird toward her causing her to ram right into her Discharge attack, her eyes going wide as Queen then proceeded to Slash her from behind, her back now bleeding a little bit.

Celeste quickly flew away, terror in her eyes as Nathan whistled, Jack's eye twitching all the while, the boy refusing to believe he was seeing this. Queen's tactic was absolutely brilliant and Dana couldn't have been more proud of the spider.

But just as the tarantula sent in another Electro Ball, Nathan spat, "Celeste, dodge that and strike with Sky Attack!" Celeste nodding and soaring toward the spider, swerving to the right and avoiding the ball of electricity before flying hard into the Galvantula, her eyes swirling as she spread out her legs, her body collapsing as Celeste took a deep breath and posed with pride, the crowd cheering for the bird.

Jason's eyes were wide as he said, "All that damage and she still won," Jacob nodding and replying, "Nathan's team really is something."

Dana returned Queen and blinked before saying, "Wow, Nathan, you surprise me more and more," Nathan shrugging before stating, "Well, this battle's not over, yet. Come on, give me your best shot," Dana nodding while trying to decide whether to use Pyro or Victini.

She was about to pick Pyro just for the sake of fairness, however, at the same time, a part of her wanted to use the Emboar last. After all, Pyro was her first Pokemon. It just seemed logical to go that route, at least in her eyes. Of course, this wasn't particularly good news for Nathan either way as aside from Celeste, who had taken in a lot of damage, he didn't have much to go up against her fire types.

Ultimately, Dana went with Victini as the crowd cheered for the legend's presence, Jason biting his collar and saying, "Oh, god, Nathan's screwed now, I just know it!" Izy blinking and staring at Jason before replying, "I thought you weren't playing favourites," the boy whistling innocently in response.

However, Dana almost looked guilty for summoning Victini as Nathan smiled lightly saying, "Hey, Dana, don't feel bad about choosing your legend. After all, you would have ended up choosing him eventually if I got that far," Dana smiling and nodding before saying, "You always know what to say, Nathan."

With that, Victini took to the sky and shot a Flame Burst at Celeste only for the bird to dodge, realizing she'd need to be amazingly fast right now if she wanted to deal a lot of damage. She had, after all, taken in a lot of damage from her fight with Queen.

Celeste then rammed her body hard into the legendary Pokemon, using a successful Quick Attack before planting her talons into his chest, sending him flying into the wall. But just as she was about to strike again, Victini ignored the pain dealt to him as he flew up into the air, approaching Celeste before flying around her head.

"That's it, Victini!" Dana squealed with a big smile on her face, "Keep it up!" Celeste unable to follow Victini's movements as her eyes started to swirl, the legend seeing an opportunity and lighting his body on fire, ramming hard into the bird's back.

Celeste's eyes went wide as she coughed up blood, the bird soaring fast and hard into the ground, laying there, unable to move. It was no question, Celeste had truly lost this round. Sure, Victini had also done damage to himself with that move, but that didn't change the fact that he'd beaten the bird.

Now things had truly gotten intense as Nathan's remaining Pokemon were both weak against fire types. Nonetheless, the boy kept a calm and collective composure as he took a deep breath, sending in Zelda. Everyone thought this a rather strange choice, but the reason Nathan had gone with this was because the Serperior was faster than Sammy.

Victini immediately started things up by sending a flame at the snake only for Nathan to shout, "Dodge it and use Growth!" the snake slithering forward, managing to get right past where the flame was headed in time to avoid it, an aura surrounding her body. Growth was a move that increased attack and special attack strength, meaning Zelda could deal more damage now, and she'd definitely need that against a fire type.

However, Victini wasn't going to stand for this as he sent another flame toward the snake, Zelda rolling out of the way before coiling his body, using a move called Coil as a purple aura surrounded him. Now his attack had not been increased again, but his defense and accuracy also went up.

"Alright, you're ready now," Nathan said as the snake smiled, letting out her vines and latching them onto Victini. Luckily, this was Wrap and not Vine Whip, so it dealt regular damage. However, Victini wasn't going to let this take her down as he sent a Searing Shot hard into Zelda's face, the snake crying out in pain and letting go.

"Ignore it and spring yourself up into the air!" Nathan spat as the crowd stared in confusion, Zelda smiling before leaping up onto her tail and curling it to make it look like a spring, the snake propelling herself into the air and forming a Leaf Blade on the end of her tail, flipping her body vertically and sending it forward, striking the now-spellbound Victini hard in the face as his head came open, blood coming out.

As Victini started to fall to the ground, Zelda aimed her tail toward the legend's pelvis, this time hitting him with Slam shortly after he hit the ground, Victini coughing up blood while the crowd went wild. They couldn't believe what they were seeing. Not only was Zelda doing an excellent job against a fire type, she was dominating a legendary Pokemon.

Dana blinked and asked, "Are you okay, Victini," the legend's body twitching as he slowly pushed himself up, a look of fury on his face as steam shot from his ears. He knew this was a battle against a friend, but he was annoyed now.

As such, he lit his body on fire, charging toward the snake as Nathan had Zelda try to dodge to the side. Unfortunately, Victini was now on high alert and wouldn't allow this, easily redirecting herself toward the snake. Nathan then felt a little nervous and as a last minute resort had Zelda use Leaf Storm in an attempt to counter the attack.

As the leaves hit, despite the flames covering Victini's body, some of them did manage to cut him as blood formed. However, the legend simply ignored this as he rammed his body hard into Zelda's, the snake crying out in pain and falling to her side, passing out.

The crowd cheered for Dana as she breathed a sigh of relief, Nathan smiling lightly and ready to return Zelda when everyone noticed something odd. It seemed that Flare Blitz combined with those cuts Victini took in were more than the legend could handle as he struggled to maintain balance, soon falling hard against his back, also out cold.

Yae's eyes went wide as she held up her mic saying, "Things have really gotten intense now. Both are down to their last Pokemon, and at the exact same time no less. Now this last battle will decide everything."

The crowd was silent, not even wanting to cheer at this point. Just as Yae said, it was all down to this one fight. Both were tied right now, so the results of this very battle would decide the champion. As such, both returned their currently knocked out Pokemon as Nathan sent in Sammy, Dana sending in Pyro, Yae and Pep seeing no need for the roulette to be brought in.

The gym leaders and elite four members watched with interest, all of them having a neutral view on this whole thing. Having equal respect for both trainers, they couldn't really decide who they wanted to see win, just as long as both were good sports about it. Sabrina, on the other hand, bit her lip, hoping that Nathan could strike another miracle and win despite the type disadvantage.

Jason took a deep breath and groaned, "When's it all gonna end?" Roxanne saying, "Clearly the Excadrill should win because he's cuter," Jacob scowling but refused to give his own remark, looking back at the battle and saying, "Well, Nathan's a smart trainer," Izy nodding and saying, "Yeah, but so's Dana." Anna and Janette simply said nothing, both with neutral expressions on their faces.

Jack simply looked at Nathan and said, "Come on, you can do this," as Nathan smiled and said, "Well, Dana, this is it," Dana nodding and saying, "Let's make this one really count."

At the same time, though, Dana couldn't help but feel like she would lose right here and now. She knew just how tough Sammy was and also took into account the fact that Taylor's Excadrill had beaten Pyro prior to this. Nonetheless, she couldn't go down without a fight. That would be insulting to Nathan's skill.

With that, Pyro opened up with Ember, the small flame headed toward Sammy who simply turned her claws metal, holding them up like a shield and blocking the incoming flame. She then charged toward the Emboar, sending her claws out for Metal Claw only for Pyro to hold up his arm, taking a bit of damage to his forearm but ignoring the pain.

He then proceeded to thrust his other arm hard into Sammy's gut, the mole backing up a bit before taking in a Flamethrower to the chest, the mole flying backwards before planting her feet hard against the ground, skidding to a halt.

So far, it was in Pyro's favour, but it was still anyone's game. Seeing Pyro set up for another Flamethrower, Sammy held up a pose as the stream of flames flew forward, the mole ducking down and digging her claws into the dirt, scooping up two big clods and hurling them hard into the pig's face. This being a ground type move, Pyro was actually weak against this as he groaned in pain, rubbing the dirt off of his face.

While the boar was distracted, Sammy formed into a drill and flew forward, ramming herself hard into his belly as the Emboar coughed up blood, spinning around while being forced up against the wall, Dana screaming, "PYRO, REMEMBER WHAT YOU DID AGAINST TAYLOR'S EXCADRILL!"

Pyro's eyes widened as he grinned, nodding and placing his hands up against Sammy before she could form back into her regular form, holding her up. But rather than using another Piledriver, he instead turned his body around, leaning backwards as Sammy reverted to her mole form, her neck planted hard against the ground as Pyro had just used a Suplex.

Dana squealed with glee as Sammy slowly got back to her feet, rubbing the back of her neck before placing one hand against the top of her head, another against her chin and turned both sides a bit to snap her neck bone back into place. There was no way she'd let such a tactic, let alone a human technique do her in.

However, seeing Sammy up got Pyro back on high alert as he charged at her with flames surrounding his body, the mole quickly diving into the ground and creating a big hole there, Pyro missing completely as he screeched to a halt, looking around. Dana gulped, rather nervous now as she knew how hard it was to avoid this move.

However, Pyro didn't even bother to try and detect the mole's movement as he figured it would be a better idea to point his snout towards the ground and blast fire against it. He figured that this way, Sammy would have to take in damage the second she came up.

However, Sammy had anticipated Pyro using a rash move like that as she rose up behind him, reaching her arm around his neck and pulling him back, slamming him hard against the ground while the crowd went wild, very impressed by this tactic. However, the Emboar wasn't willing to let this get to him as he threw up his own arms, slamming his palms hard into the Excadrill's face and causing her to let go, the boar backing up.

Both Pokemon were breathing heavily, the crowd now back to being silent. After a few seconds, Nathan smiled lightly and said, "Well, Dana, let's make these last moves count," Dana nodding with a smile of her own shouting, "Pyro, hit her with Flare Blitz!" the pig lighting his body on fire once again and charging toward the mole.

"Sammy, use Slash!" Nathan spat as the mole charged toward the boar, his claws at the ready. While the two ran at one-another, the crowd stared with anticipation.

Sammy was just about to send her claws forward when Pyro kicked up his speed a notch and took full advantage of this, holding his shoulder out and ramming it hard into Sammy's chin, the mole unable to connect her Slash as she took in one last Arm Thrust to the gut, coughing up blood before passing out, Pyro breathing heavily while the mole lay on the ground.

Everyone watched with anticipation, Nathan staring in shock as after a few seconds, Yae pointed at Dana and said, "People, we now have a champion," the crowd cheering loudly, Nathan and Dana's friends simply clapping, refusing to act as if they were playing favourites, Jack feeling rather annoyed by this result. Finally, it was over, and of all the surprises, Dana had come out victorious.

Nathan had a light smile on his face and was about to congratulate the girl when rather than looking happy, Dana instead started to let down tears, Nathan blinking and asking, "What's wrong?" everyone else staring with confusion as Dana sniffed, "You lost on purpose, didn't you?"

"What?" Nathan asked as Dana spat, "Don't lie to me! You let me win! There's no way I Pyro could possibly beat your Sammy!"

Nathan simply shook his head, looking into Dana's eyes and saying, "No, I was trying my absolute hardest to beat you. You won fair and square," Dana drying her tears and looking into Nathan's eyes, seeing the sincerity there. He was telling the truth.

With that, Dana sniffed once more, a smile on her face as the two approached one-another, shaking their hands as Nathan said, "Here's to a great battle," Dana nodding and saying, "Likewise," the crowd cheering once again.

And so the rest of the day went by without a hitch. Dana was presented a gold medal along with a cash prize of 100,000,000 yen, Nathan receiving 75,000,000 as Jack ended up with 50,000,000, the boy figuring that the cash prize at least made his efforts all worth it to some degree.

After the ceremony, the group had a congratulatory dinner in celebration of Dana's victory and Nathan ending up in second. All in all, things had certainly turned out well, but by the end of the day, everyone had to return home.

There were vehicles provided to bring the contestants and special guests home as Nathan shook Jacob's hand saying, "I hope I get to see you again someday," Jacob smiling and replying, "Yeah, I'd love to battle with you again. You might beat me next time," Izy grinning and saying, "I doubt it, honey," kissing Jacob on the cheek.

Anna, Janette and Roxanne gave Dana one last hug before boarding a plane set to take them back to their homes, waving at the girl who waved happily at them, Jason looking at a sheet of paper with an autograph from every one of the gym leaders and Elite Four members, the boy saying, "Now I can prove to Catherine that I'm friends with the gym leaders," hugging the paper as Nathan rolled his eyes, saying, "You knew her for one day and yet you already sound like you're crushing on her," Jason sticking out his tongue and remarking, "Well, she did beat me at a video game."

Yae was headed toward her own mode of transport when Pep tapped her on the shoulder, a big smile on her face as she said, "It was so cool working with you," Yae nodding and saying, "Likewise," the two shaking hands before saying a quick goodbye, Pep happily skipping back to her center.

However, as everyone started boarding their transportation vehicles, Dana bit her lip and turned to Nathan, a sad look on her face as she said, "I guess this is goodbye..." Nathan blinking before sighing, "I could visit every now and then."

"Hold it!" Jason remarked, the other two staring as the boy added, "From what I can recall, Nathan, back where you live, you had no friends and lived in a shed, right?" Nathan replying, "Run-down old house, but I guess you could call it that," Jason adding, "And to the best of my knowledge, my mom doesn't want me back home."

"Where are you going with this?" Dana asked as Jason slapped his forehead, groaning, "What I'm saying is that you guys combined have more than enough prize money to buy a couple of houses," Nathan nodding, his eyes going wide as he said, "Yeah, we could move into Dana's hometown and buy ourselves new homes," Dana's eyes sparkling as she squealed, "Jason, you're a genius!" Jason chuckling and saying, "I don't mean to toot my own horn, but yeah, I totally am."

However, Nathan remembered something as he looked at Yae, the professor shrugging and replying, "You don't work for me anymore, remember?" Nathan grinning widely, an expression he didn't normally show as all three friends joined in a group hug, Jason then adding, "Oh, by the way, Dana has something she needs to tell you," Dana's cheeks turning red as Nathan looked at her curiously.

And from that point on, things had certainly turned out well. Deciding to give up travelling, the teens decided to get themselves new jobs. Nathan got a job at a jewelry store, picking out excellent selections for customers and even pitching new design ideas. Dana decided to be an announcer for pro wrestling, knowing she could never be a wrestler herself, what with her scrawny build. Jason also got a job at a restaurant, becoming majorly successful off of his brilliant recipes.

Of course the Pokemon still lived with them and now they were allowed to stay out of their Pokeballs at all times, free to do whatever they wanted while their masters were away. Queen would always spend her day fixing up the house for Dana despite the girl wishing the spider wouldn't overwork herself while the other Pokemon did whatever they wanted.

Sabrina was let out of prison about a week after the tournament and had since started doing community service with her first Pokemon, a Heatmor given to her by Amanda to show that she'd forgiven the woman. The gym leaders and Elite Four also went back to their old lives, Pamela and Rocky visiting each other every now and then while Melissa occasionally dropping in on Max to see how he was doing.

Jack went on to do his own thing knowing he had nowhere to go. He started travelling the land with his Pokemon and battling random trainers, even going onto another region to shoot for the championship there.

Jason would go to Green City every now and then to see Catherine for a round of video games among other activities, and when he wasn't spending time with her, he was sending her messages with his pocket phone. The two had become great friends but despite implications never went anywhere beyond that.

Although the big question that comes to mind is as follows: did Nathan and Dana start dating? To put it simply, yes, yes they did. After a couple of years, Dana was the one who ended up proposing, and naturally, Nathan was more than happy to say yes. Needless to say, they're happily married now.

The end


End file.
